Roemer urges CGA students to “be exceptional,” new leaders take over

Senior prefect Tess Roemer (Chicago) urged Culver Girls Academy leaders at their induction ceremony Thursday night to “be exceptional,” saying she believes they already are in ways that matter.

“We carry what CGA needs: Empathy. Loyalty. Laughter. Curiosity. Courage. And this year, I want us to draw those qualities out of each other, on purpose and often,” she said.

Culver Academies opened its academic year Thursday night by inducting CGA leaders and commissioning Culver Military Academy officers in separate ceremonies.

At the CGA ceremony held at Eppley Auditorium, 184 students received leader name tags. At the Culver Military Academy ceremony, held on the lake side of Legion Memorial Building, 59 officers were commissioned: three captains, 30 first lieutenants and 26 second lieutenants.

The 2025-2026 school year gets underway on Monday. CGA has 103 new students and 255 returning students. CMA has 149 new cadets and 323 returning cadets.

Roemer encouraged the CGA leaders to show empathy when asking someone how she is really doing and to show loyalty by protecting each other’s names when not in the room, saying that is how to build trust. She also urged the girls to be silly and to bring joy especially when things are hard.

She also urged the girls to be curious.

“Say yes to something new, even if you’re not sure you’ll be good at it,” Roemer said.

She told the leaders they must set the tone for the new girls who will soon be walking through the Logansport Gate, and challenged the leaders to watch how they treat each other, how they talk, how they lead and how they act when no one is giving them credit.

 

“Act toward someone new the way you act toward your best friend. They deserve your smile. They deserve a seat at your table. They deserve your empathy, your compassion, your patience,” she said.

CGA Dean Caren Standfast told the students that the induction ceremony is one of her favorites because she gets to look at them and say: “It’s your turn.”

“So I asked myself, ‘What words of wisdom can I offer as you take the reins?’ ” she said.

She recalled being at a lacrosse game this summer and seeing a majority of people either on their phones or looking at Instagram, “not understanding the power that comes from personal interaction – from human presence, one idea kept coming back to me: Leadership is about how you make others feel. It requires human interaction. It’s relational,” she said.

She told the students that there is a power in presence. She also said there is power when women get together as female leaders.

“Research shows females often perform best when they feel part of a group first. We are relational first,” she said.

She told the students she read the book “Legacy” by James Kerr, which offers advice on how to build a happy team. He wrote that happy teams –  from sports to boardrooms – values are the same: humility, excellence and respect.

“As I look to our new leaders, the power to create that kind of team is yours,” she said. “Kerr, in ‘Legacy,’ says it best: Leadership is about creating the conditions in which those in our care can flourish, thrive, and become their true selves — despite society’s pressures to be otherwise.”

She asked the student leaders to personally take care of the new students and lead them with humility, respect and excellence.

“Leadership is about how you make others feel,” Standfast said. “You have the power as a leader to create the conditions for others to thrive.”

The Rev. LaThelma Armstrong ’09, the new assistant director of spiritual life and Protestant youth minister, told the students that they are better together.

“To you, the leaders of Culver Girls Academy, you are stepping into a sacred trust to care for your peers, to speak for what is right, to stand steady when the wind is strong,” she said. “You do not lead alone. The power in this room multiplies when we lift each other. When one voice rises, others find courage to join.”

 

She said leadership is not about being perfect, it’s about being present.

“You are part of a lineage of women who dared, persisted and opened doors wider for those who came after. Now you, too, are keepers of that legacy,” she said. “So go forward together with courage that inspires courage, with joy that fuels joy and with the unshakeable belief that when we lead with purpose, the world changes for the better.”

At the CMA ceremony, Col. Michael Squires, commandant of cadets, welcomed the cadets, parents and others to the ceremony and asked the cadets a few questions before giving the officers their oath.

“What’s the primary role of an officer?” he asked.

“Set the conditions for success,” the cadets answered in unison.

Squires then asked a cadet: “What is the most important condition for success at Culver?”

“Create a positive command environment,” the cadet responded.

When Squires asked another cadet what that meant, the cadet responded that it meant making sure all feel welcome.

“The environment is positive and welcoming,” Squires said. “A team that everyone wants to be on.”

He then reminded the cadets that it is an honor and privilege to serve. He then told the cadets he was about to give them some accoutrements, such as a gold band to put on their caps and some brass. He then asked them why he was giving it to them.

“So it can distinguish you,” a cadet said.

“Part of it is so I can see an officer from afar if a problem needs to be fixed,” Squires said. “I can say, ‘Hey, officer, come over here and fix this problem.’ ”

He said it’s also because he expects the officers to model the way every day.

“So, to whom much is given, much accoutrements, much is expected. I fully expect this team to do great work,” Squires said.

Squires then administered the CMA oath of office, where the officers swore that they would do their best to live up to the highest ideals of Culver Academies and to teach, inspire and care for those they lead.