Summit Country Day School salutatorian Emily Warden holds her diploma after her commencement.
An avid scientific researcher, Latin scholar, student committed to peer ministry and a lifer at The Summit Country Day School, Emily Warden earned the distinction as the school’s salutatorian for the Class of 2020.
The Summit offers plenty of opportunities for students interested in expanding their scope of scientific study. Emily, a resident of Loveland who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, took full advantage.
She participated in the school’s Schiff Family Science Research Institute, studying ways to prevent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), a bacterium that affects the colon.
“I worked with a research group that aims to gain more knowledge about CDI prevention. We specifically look at preventative measures to reduce CDI rates such as identifying and properly treating the disease upon admission,” Emily wrote in her blog post. “This opportunity has taught me things that I could have never learned by sitting in a classroom: I was able to observe the Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposal drafting, train for the research, perform a literature review, and be a part of the research itself as the project continues.”
Emily also attended the Honors Marine Biology course in Hawaii in 2018 and competed in the USA Biology Olympiad.
She also worked her way through The Summit’s powerhouse Latin program. Emily was a member of the school’s Latin Club and the National Latin Honor Society.
The Summit, among its five pillars, encourages its student to grow spiritually. Emily took it a step further by serving as the rector of a Kairos retreat, directing the entire retreat. Not only was she enhancing her spiritual growth, she was working to help others on their faith journey.
Emily also served on the school’s Ministry Leadership Team and was a member of the Community Club, Key Club and Current Events Club.
She also fulfilled The Summit’s athletic pillar, participating in lacrosse and soccer.
Even with athletics and the myriad extracurricular activities, including serving as a Junior Ambassador for the Karen Wellington Foundation, Emily managed her time well to excel academically.
In addition to her superb grade point average, Emily was a member of the National Honor Society and made The Summit’s Director’s List with High Honors. That designation is for students who are in the top 10 percent of the class.
Most of The Summit’s 101 graduates celebrated commencement in small advisement groups of eight to 11 students in order to maintain the social distancing needed to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Emily attended all nine of the commencements to open each one in prayer and deliver her salutatorian address.
Reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic which led the Class of 2020 to spend their last months separated in a remote learning environment, Emily told the graduates to look to their futures with positivity. “This is a brand new beginning,” she said. “And as we walk out these doors into a new chapter in our lives, we will forever be interconnected, and The Summit will remain a home in our hearts. What matters is not the things lost in these months. What is truly important is that once again, we are together and we have something very wonderful to celebrate.”
Learn more about The Summit’s Class of 2020 at www.summitcds.org.