On April 17, Roxbury Latin celebrated in Hall the 12 members of Class I whose efforts and accomplishments have earned them membership in the Cum Laude Society. Each spring, the all-school Cum Laude ceremony honors the life of the mind—affirming that at the heart of a good school is scholarly engagement.

“This special event is intended principally to do two things,” began Head of School Sam Schaffer. “The first is to recognize the most distinguished scholars of the First Class. In their efforts and in their accomplishments, they have put to good use the gifts they have been given… The second purpose of this annual ceremony is in many ways the more consequential, for it involves everyone else in this room. In honoring these 12 boys, we are honoring the life of the mind; we are honoring trying hard and doing well; we are affirming that at the heart of a good school is scholarly engagement. I admonish you to take to heart the example of the inductees… All of you boys have the capacity to strive, to grow, to change, and to know the satisfaction of ideas unearthed and potential realized.”

Delivering the morning’s Cum Laude address was Dr. Saurabh Saha, CEO of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a company aiming to discover and develop medicines that are transformative for patients.

In his Cum Laude address, he urged the boys to “find their North Star,” and he went on to describe what that prevailing principle looked like for him in his career—a path that was neither straight nor simple, but which was always guided by his own North Star:

“Years ago, as I sat in a hall much like this one—at an all-boys Jesuit high school just outside of Chicago—a speaker asked: What does your future hold? Do you want to be an astronaut? The president? Cure cancer?

“At that point, I had no clue. Maybe some scattered dreams, some vague hopes—but cure cancer? I didn’t even really know what it was. I only knew the sadness and pain the word seemed to carry. At that moment it sounded far-fetched, but in hindsight, I realized it was the flicker of a larger calling—the first glimmer of my North Star.

“Over time, that initial spark evolved into something more deliberate, more encompassing: a North Star defined by a desire to help alleviate human suffering from disease. Steve Jobs once said, ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.’

“It’s true—you never see with perfect clarity where life’s events will lead. You can’t predict how an internship, a random conversation, or an unexpected obstacle might become pivotal in shaping the storyline of your life.

While he was correct—you can’t connect the dots looking forward—you do have the power to set your sights on a North Star, to progress toward an ideal, to pursue a long-term vision that resonates deeply within you, and to give shape and direction to those yet-to-be-connected dots.

Personally, the path guided by my North Star—to alleviate suffering from disease, perhaps by discovering new medicines—led me through college, graduate school, and medical school.

It’s easy to assume that when someone says, ‘I want to cure cancer,’ the road must be perfectly mapped out: Step A, then Step B, then Step C. But in reality, it’s never that easy—and it’s never a straight line. Often, competing interests emerge.”

Dr. Saha described in detail many specific moments throughout the course of his career—forks in the road, difficult decisions to be made, fortuitous interactions with individuals who made positive and life-altering differences in his own life and decisions. Ultimately, he implored the students to “expect setbacks. Stay resilient. Surround yourself with exceptionally driven and talented people. The path may not be straight, but the outcomes can be glorious.”

Read the entirety of Dr. Saha’s remarks.

Congratulations to the following seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society this year:

Miles Baumal-Bardy
Lucas Connors
Isaac Frehywot
Alex Giordano
Bruno Kim
Krish Muniappan
Omar Rahman
Brendan Reichard
Raj Saha
Daniel Stepanyan
Christo Velikin
Nathan Zhang

“We gather to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Dr. Schaffer began, as he addressed the Roxbury Latin community at the annual MLK Commemoration Hall on January 14. “We pause to recognize the contributions of this remarkable man, and to consider anew principles of justice, equality, and brotherhood.” Dr. Schaffer continued, emphasizing how the words of Dr. King still ring true today. “Our vigilance, principles, and activism are consequential. We still have work to do to achieve the justice envisioned so many years ago by Dr. King,” he stated. “It is the responsibility of all of us to stand up for what is right.”

Prior to Dr. Schaffer’s welcome and introduction, Zach Heaton (I) read a passage from Micah, followed by Aiden Theodore (I) reading an excerpt from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Dr. Schaffer then introduced the day’s featured speaker, biographer Jonathan Eig. Mr. Eig spoke with students, faculty, and staff about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—a topic explored in his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography King: A Life.

“I begin my book with the following sentence: On December 5, 1955, a young Black man became one of America’s founding fathers,” Mr. Eig stated, as he opened his talk, referencing the significance of the day in history—the first day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. “There was enormous risk involved. What kept people in Montgomery from equality, it wasn’t just the law,” he stated. “It was the fear of standing up, of challenging the Jim Crow society of the south. The fear of death.” As the city became more divided and segregated in the weeks following, a new leader was called upon. At just 26 years old, Dr. King, who was new to the town, was asked to lead the charge calling for desegregation and unifying the Black community. 

As Mr. Eig continued in his address, he explored the humanity of Dr. King—his mental health struggles, his family and friendships, his difficulties in life. “In the last 39 years, since we created this holiday, I felt like we had lost sight of him. In celebrating him and hallowing him, we have hollowed him,” Mr. Eig explained. “We have turned him into this two-dimensional figure, we’ve whitewashed him, we’ve stripped away his radicalism and his faith, and we’ve lost sight of the fact that he had fears and failures. We’ve turned him into a monument, a national holiday, and thousands of street signs and hundreds of public schools, and we’ve forgotten that he was a person.” Mr. Eig’s goal in writing the first biography of Dr. King in decades was to revisit him as a person, and to share his humanity, faith, successes, foibles, struggles, and victories with readers of today.   

After Hall, Mr. Eig spent time in history classes to participate in smaller class discussions and field questions directly from the boys. His influence and impact was felt throughout the day, with many faculty, staff, and students marveling at how engaging and important his speech was. His book, King: A Life, is a must-read. 

On January 6, students, faculty and staff gathered in Rousmaniere Hall to celebrate the opening of the winter term. After unified renditions of “Morning Has Broken” and “O God Our Help In Ages Past,” Mr. Cervas read the poem “For A New Beginning” by John O’Donohue, and Sam Seaton (I) recited a quotation from Albert Schweitzer, referencing the “instant flame” ignited by our encounters with others. Finally, Dr. Schaffer took to the lectern to deliver the opening address. 

“We are now in 2025,” began Dr. Schaffer. “We are at the beginning of a new calendar year. And one that, by the way, is quite interesting mathematically,” he continued, admittedly straying from his typical historian approach. He went on to highlight the various numerical anomalies associated with the number, including the way it is a perfect square and also a square of the sum of its digits.  

While January marks a new calendar year, it marks the midpoint of RL’s academic year. “In the spirit of the school year, we can look back to see what got us here,” Dr. Schaffer stated. “We can take satisfaction in all that we achieved, and now we can also assess what worked for us. What didn’t? How can we improve? What should stay the same, and what should change?”

The Hall couldn’t conclude without some historical tie-in, though. Dr. Schaffer reflected on the life of the longest-living U.S. President, Jimmy Carter, and his recent passing. Carter became President at a young age, yet it was the second half of his life and career, after his presidency, that defined and solidified his place in history. 

Dr. Schaffer recited a quotation from Jimmy Carter after he lost reelection: “In a few days, I will lay down my official responsibilities in this office to take up once more the only title in our democracy superior to that of president, the title of citizen.” Dr. Schaffer explored Carter’s identity in this regard: “As a citizen, he dedicated his life to further service to others. And while historians may reassess the successes and failures of his presidency, there is a common consensus that he is the greatest post-president ever. His second half was monumental.”

As the Hall came to a close and students were dismissed to begin the second half of their academic year, rooted in the fresh start of a new calendar year, there was a feeling of renewed optimism and drive within the familiar halls.