Overview:
• Rachel Mitchell, a senior at Cincinnati Country Day School, received the prestigious Country Day Award
• She also received the Thomas D. Gettler `76 Creative Writing Award and the Fine Arts Award in Drama
• Jordan Lowe and Nicholas Vredeveld were honored with the Peter Levinson Memorial Award for their contributions to school and community
By Josephine McKenrick
Cincinnati Country Day School
With another memorable year at Cincinnati Country Day School coming to a close, faculty, staff, family members, and student body came together to celebrate 39 student recognitions during the Upper School award ceremony.
Head of School Rob Zimmerman `98 presented the Country Day Award, which is the highest honor the school can bestow upon a student. This award recognizes the student who, in the opinion of the faculty, best represents those qualities for which we want the school to be known. This year, senior Rachel “Ray” Mitchell received this recognition.
“We have been blessed to benefit from the rising tide of Ray’s leadership here at Country Day. On second thought, though, perhaps this metaphor of a rising tide sounds too gradual to truly capture Ray’s spirit, too passive to capture her virtue in action. Instead, to sum up, I will defer to another faculty member, who said it best: ‘The world should be ready to be taken by storm – she is only 17; imagine what awaits.’”
Ray also received the Thomas D. Gettler `76 Creative Writing Award and the Fine Arts Award in Drama. Ray is also a National African American Merit Scholar.
Jenn Weinheimer, head of Upper School, encouraged every student to take a moment to reflect on the work they’ve done.
“Awards Day is a chance to look back and appreciate the year and all it brought, not just about those who get called to the stage,” said Weinheimer. “Not everyone wins an award—and that’s life. You are a part of a community of greatness, and today we celebrate a few particular kinds of achievement on a particular timeline… every kid in this room has some skill, some talent, some ability to connect with others, and we don’t have awards for all those skills and talents. Know that you are seen. Know that you are valued. Celebrate your friends’ successes and keep perspective.
“Congratulations for all the growth you’ve experienced this year. Congratulations on that spectacular failure that led you back into a teacher’s office to figure out a new way. Congratulations for getting it right – for now,” continued Weinheimer. “Stay healthy, work hard, be radically kind and turn your virtue into action.
If you’re a senior, go out into the world and be ready to feel uncommonly prepared for college courses, but sometimes unprepared for the small hiccups of life.”
Juniors Jordan Lowe and Nicholas Vredeveld were honored with the Peter Levinson Memorial Award, an award bestowed upon those for “giving of oneself in schoolwork and school activities, leadership, a zest for competitive athletics…a positive attitude…and a commitment to community service.”
“She [Jordan] is quietly confident but never a braggart. She is willing to help her classmates and her teachers, and she stays out of the drama that can often accompany high school life,” said Weinheimer. “She’s an incredibly hard worker who doesn’t complain or engage in the one-upmanship of who is more exhausted or more stressed. All of this and her transcript has never even seen an A-minus. [Jordan] is a model of scholarship and generosity of spirit.”