Baccalaureate speakers highlight challenges and joy in Culver journey

 

Seniors Albert Lu and Joy Chung offered a portrait of Culver Academies defined not by ease, but by resilience, community and an understanding that their school is different.

Lu (Granger, Indiana), who will attend Princeton University, and Chung (Seoul, South Korea), who will attend Stanford University, were chosen by classmates to give the Baccalaureate Service Convocation speeches at Memorial Chapel on Saturday. Culver Academies is an elite leadership-oriented boarding school in Indiana.

Lu told his classmates they should embrace what separates Culver Academies from other schools.

“Culver Academies is not a normal high school,” Lu said, pointing to specific examples.

“Our traditions are unique worldwide, our unit communities are stronger than steel, and we even get to think we look cool sometimes. Our uniforms unite us as one academy, where fellow students, alumni, faculty, and everyone tangential to Culver can look at a cadet or girl and think ‘that’s a Culver student. I can trust them to be disciplined, hard-working, and respectful. I know they’ve built bonds with their brothers and sisters, and have grown into humble, transformative, responsible leaders.’ And that’s something that’s not normal about Culver.”

He said Culver isn’t normal academically, either.

“Culver classes are challenging,” he said. “Ego aside, Culver courses have consistently surprised me with their richness and depth of knowledge.”

He said students at Culver aren’t asked to just memorize information.

“We are asked to think, to struggle, to argue, to write, to present, to revise, and occasionally to beg our teachers for mercy,” he said.

Lu said Culver students also learn that the best classes are often the ones that make students feel least comfortable at first.

“At Culver, the challenge usually finds you, emails you, reminds you on Schoology or Toddle, and then follows up in person,” he said.

Even the moments of confusion, he added, are part of the growth. He pointed specifically to the class Multivariable Calculus.

“It is the kind of class that makes you question not only your academic ability, but also the moral character of whoever invented Stokes’ theorem,” Lu said. “There were days when I looked at a problem set and thought, ‘I understand every word on this page individually, and absolutely none of them together.’ Strangely enough, that confusion is part of what makes Culver academics meaningful.”

Lu said Culver is defined by what students choose to make of it.

“One phrase, I think, defines Culver as an academy and experience,” he said. “It is as hard and as meaningful as you want it to be.”

Lu also pointed to the Academies’ demanding extracurricular culture, where activities extend well beyond the traditional school day. His own schedule included fencing, theatre, Quiz Bowl, and work with The Vedette, among other commitments.

“At Culver, extracurriculars are somehow after school, before dinner, after dinner, on weekends, during breaks, and occasionally in your dreams,” he said. 

Those experiences, he said, helped shape him.

“They make quiet people speak, confident people listen, serious people laugh at themselves, and tired people somehow show up anyway,” he said.

From leadership roles within the Corps of Cadets to academic ambitions and extracurricular involvement, Lu said Culver Academies offers countless opportunities for growth, but it is up to students to pursue them.

“At Culver, I didn’t get a normal experience,” he said. “I got an amazing, disciplined, character-building experience with the most loyal, hard-working community I’ve ever had the fortune to be a part of.”

Lu challenged his classmates to carry that experience forward.

“Culver is not normal. We are not normal, and I think we can be proud of that,” Lu said.

 

 

Chung framed the journey the Class of 2026 went through as one shaped by both hardship and joy.

“As a class, we’ve gone through our own version of suffering,” she said, recalling demanding schedules, dorm rooms without air conditioning, a “truly brutal winter” and weekend nights in disciplinary confinement.

Yet those struggles, she said, were inseparable from the relationships and memories that gave their Culver experience meaning.

Chung pointed to the small but lasting joys that filled those same years — spontaneous dorm gatherings, late-night conversations, cheering alongside teammates and classmates and the shared rituals that define student life.

“There has been a wonder and present-ness in that survival -- a type of ecstasy and happiness and laughter that comes out of the so-called bad and painful memories,” she said. “Our suffering opens channels for a deeper and more delicate type of joy.”

She pointed to how this year’s school theme was “Find Joy. Fuel Joy.”

“I know we’ve been talking about joy all year, and ironically, now you have to watch and listen to Joy’s speech,” she said.

Chung told her classmates that Buddhism teaches: “that life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with countless wonders.”

“To simply suffer is not enough. Instead, we need to recognize the wonders of life that surround us at any given moment. In these past few weeks, I believe I've felt this resoundingly.”

She urged classmates to “choose joy — over and over again.”

“Recognize the small wonders hidden inside our ordinary lives. The wonder of hearing the chapel bells ringing one more time, walking these paths treaded on by countless footsteps before us and countless more after us.”

As the Class of 2026 prepares to leave Culver, Chung acknowledged the poignancy of the moment.

“We have built families and niches within this staggeringly inexplicable place,” she said. “From strangers carrying names of different hometowns and fears, we have become inconceivably intertwined in each other’s life stories.”

Even so, she urged her classmates to embrace the fleeting nature of their time together, recognizing its significance precisely because it cannot last.

“So, before this chapter closes, I hope we allow ourselves to stand in the now – look around this sacred space and understand that this version of life we are experiencing with this exact collection of people in this exact moment of time, will never, ever exist again,” she said. “And though that truth is painful, it is one that is inevitable. But it’s a good thing, I think, to be lucky enough to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

 

Awards

The recipients of the top student awards were presented at Commencement Convocation on Saturday.

The McDonald Award was presented to Albert Lu (Granger, Indiana). The award, given by E.C. McDonald, Class of 1915, is awarded to the cadet who -- by his individual work, example and inspiration -- has contributed materially to the betterment of cultural life at Culver.

The Arthur G. Hughes Award was presented to Mallory Schurz (Phoenix, Arizona). The award, named in honor of the late Arthur G. Hughes, first chairman of the Fine Arts Department, is given to the graduating senior girl who has revealed exceptional concern for cultural life on campus.

The Van Zandt Key was presented to Nicholas Besachio (Greeneville, Tennessee). The key is presented to the cadet who, by his effort and example, has increased awareness among the Corps of Cadets of the importance of moral and spiritual values. The award was established in 1954 by Richard R. Van Zandt, Class of 1928.

The Mary Frances England Humanitarian Award was presented to Nwanma Udokwu (Broomfield, Colorado). The award is named for the founding director of Culver Girls Academy and is presented annually to the senior girl who, by her acts, has revealed an exemplary concern for others. It was established in 1973 by the Culver Parents Association.

The YMCA Cup, established in 1915, was presented to Tobias Tilley (Carmel, Indiana). The award is presented to the cadet who, in the opinion of the faculty and staff, best exemplifies the ideals of Culver.

The Superintendent’s Bowl was presented to Ava Ford (Valparaiso, Indiana). The bowl, given by a former Culver cadet in 1972, is presented to a graduating Culver Girls Academy senior whose leadership, example, influence and total record of achievement has brought honor to the Academies.

McQueen (Chengxi) Huang (Guangzhou, China) was recognized as the valedictorian of the Class of 2026 and the recipient of the Jonas Weil Award. Established by Jonas Weil ’54, the Weil Award provides a monetary award to the valedictorian and salutatorian. Cynthia (Yaxin) Deng (Milpitas, California) was named the salutatorian.

Leon Li (Shanghai, China) was awarded The Scholarship Medal, which was established in 1946. The award is presented to the cadet with the highest cumulative grade point average during the second- and first-class years at Culver.

Cynthia (Yaxin) Deng (Milpitas, California) was presented the Alfred J. Donnelly Scholastic Award. The award is given in memory of Alfred J. Donnelly, Culver’s long-esteemed teacher, counselor and dean. It recognizes the graduating senior in CGA who has attained the highest academic average during her junior and senior years. The award was established in 1979.

Corey Brennan (Plymouth, Indiana) was presented with the Thomas Bridegroom Award for fine arts, named for a 2000 graduate who died in 2011.  The award is given to a CMA first classman or a CGA senior intending to study a fine arts discipline at a college, university, or conservatory level. The award was provided by Michael Huffington ’65.

Flynt Leverett (Houston, Texas) earned The Chambers Award, which recognizes the first-classman who has distinguished himself through a combination of excellence in scholarship and athletics.  The award, established in 1915, is given in memory of Cal C. Chambers, Class of 1908.

Sawyer Willson (Skokie, Illinois) earned the Jane Metcalfe Culver Bowl awarded to a graduating CGA student who has distinguished herself in scholastic and academic achievement.

Dorm/Unit Awards

Benson earned The Benson Bowl for Academic Achievement with an overall grade point average of 3.79. The award, established by a former Culver cadet, is dedicated to the memory of Dean Ernest B. Benson and is awarded to the CGA dormitory having the highest academic achievement for the year.

Company C won The Silver Bowl with an overall GPA of 3.67. Given by E.R. Culver III, Class of 1918, to the CMA organization having the highest academic achievement for the year. The bowl was given by E.R. Culver III, Class of 1938.

 

Faculty Awards

Culver Academies honored faculty and staff for their dedication and service.

Leadership education instructor Ally Fox received the Maj. Gen. Delmar T. Spivey Award for Teaching. The award, named for Culver’s sixth superintendent, recognizes and encourages superior teaching among younger promising faculty members. The recipient is selected by the academic department chairs.

Humanities department chairman and senior instructor John Rogers was awarded the Kaser Scholar Award. The award is presented to the faculty member “whose scholarly interests, enthusiastic teaching, sympathetic understanding, and wise counsel combine to inspire students and kindle in them the zest for life and learning.” The winner is selected by the top 30 percent of the senior class and is named in honor of Mark. B. Kaser ’75.

 Director of Stewardship Alan Loehr was awarded the John R. Mars Faculty Merit Award. Established by the board of trustees to honor Culver’s 10^th superintendent, the award is given to the member of the faculty/staff who best exemplifies the ideals of Culver and Dean Mars during his 41-year career.

Honors and Concentrations

A total of 95 students received diplomas indicating they successfully completed the requirements for concentrations or honors in a discipline.

Students graduating with a concentration in a subject completed a series of prerequisite courses, including special seminars focusing intensively on their areas of interest.

Those students graduating with honors will have produced a body of work judged to be of high merit by the corresponding subject-area faculty committee.

Service Academy Appointments
Four members of the Class of 2026 accepted appointments to service academies. William Dupuis (Gurley, Alabama) will attend the Military Academy Preparatory School at West Point, New York) Reagan Jackson (Valparaiso, Indiana) will attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island), Erik Thompson (Bradenton, Florida) will attend the Naval Academy and Nathaniel Zander (Hinsdale, Illinois) will attend the Air Force Academy.

ROTC Scholarships

Seven students accepted ROTC or National Guard scholarships:

Jacob Chapman (Roswell, Georgia), Clemson, Army; Chelsea Feick (Culver, Indiana), University of Southern California, Army; Kate Fortune (Lexington, Kentucky), College of William & Mary, Navy; Albert Lu (Granger, Indiana), Princeton,  Army; Nevaeh Navarre (Galveston, Indiana), Columbia, Navy;  Javier Salas (Puerto Aventuras, Mexico), Purdue, Navy; Kaya Turgut (South Bend, Indiana), Duke, Army.

Emeritus Faculty and Staff

As a way of honoring longtime service, the Board of Trustees established “emeritus” status in 1983 to retiring individuals who have served at least 20 years at Culver. In their May meeting, the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees conferred the following faculty and staff “emeritus” status:

David C. Weirich, 29 years, Fine Arts senior instructor, Director of Instrumental Music  

Daniel L. Davidge, 32 years, Wellness Education master instructor, Batten Fellow 

 

For more information about Culver Academies, click here.