Mount Vernon Celebrates its 15th Commencement Ceremony and 15 years of 100% College Acceptance
The Mount Vernon School celebrated its 15th annual graduation ceremony this past weekend. The ceremony took place at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 21 on the School’s Upper Campus in Sandy Springs. Celebrating its 50th year, the School built a secondary program just 18 years ago. The one hundred and sixteen members of the class of 2022 is the largest to graduate in the School’s 50 year history.
The Class of 2022 received more than $10.5M in scholarship offers, 116 seniors will be attending 58 colleges and universities across the country, while receiving overall acceptances to 155 different colleges including Cornell, Columbia, UPenn, US Naval Academy, Brown, Yale, USC, Dartmouth, Virginia Tech, TCU, Tulane, UNC, FSU, Morehouse, Arizona, Tennessee, Davidson, SCAD, Colorado, Auburn, Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Wofford, Wisconsin, Richmond, Sewanee, Pepperdine, and many more. Within Georgia, there was a 69% acceptance rate to Georgia and 45% acceptance rate to Georgia Tech. Additionally, the Class of 2022 includes National Merit Commended Scholars, a Morehead-Cain Finalist, a QuestBridge Finalist, a STAMPS Scholar, and 7 signed collegiate athletes.
Austin Taylor, the salutatorian, played an active role in his class as both captain of the Mount Vernon football and baseball teams, and served as the Wellness and Spiritual Life Prefect. As a member of the Innovation Diploma program (iD), a student-led, transformation design studio that inspires, creates, and implements high-impact work, Austin was a lead on design briefs for several companies including SJ Collins and the Spruill Arts Center. During his speech Saturday he addressed the Class of 2022 expressing gratitude for family, faculty, coaches and classmates.” Being a link in the chain of the Mount Vernon Class of 2022 will always be an honor,” said Austin, who will be attending the United States Naval Academy later this summer.
Co-valedictorians Lisa Kosmos and Jackson Aull have made tremendous impacts on the Mount Vernon community. Lisa served as the School’s Ambassador Prefect, Treasurer of the National Honor Society and Vice President of the Bridging the Gap Club where she tutored the children of refugees. This Fall, she is heading to Philadelphia to study nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. In her speech she addressed the impacts of the Pandemic and offered her fellow classmates some advice. “For me, the pandemic taught me the value of living in the present. It taught me just how complex and uncertain this world is,” Lisa said. “My fellow seniors, if you remember anything from this speech five years from now (or really five minutes from now), I hope you remember to live in the moment.”
Jackson Aull, served as a member of Leadership Sandy Springs. As a member of the iD program, Jackson led design briefs for organizations including the Children’s Museum of Atlanta and the Dunwoody Nature Center. This Fall, Jackson will be attending the Virginia Institute of Technology to study architecture and to continue developing his vision of designing a sustainable future. In a speech titled “What Will You Carry
With You?” Jackson shared, “I learned the importance of intentionally making connections with the people around me. That is something I will carry with me. I learned that going out of my comfort zone can lead to incredible personal growth. That is something I will carry with me. I hope you think about what made you who you are as you begin your new journey.”
Head of Upper School and incoming Head of School, Kristy Lundstrom celebrated the senior class’s many accomplishments and encouraged them to “flip the script” if they were asked what they want to be. She reminded them of their unique experiences at Mount Vernon and told them they were ready. “You are college ready.” “You are ready to be globally competitive.” “You are ready to be an engaged citizen leader.” She went on to say, “As an adult, you have a responsibility to share the well – Share from your well of talent and influence.”
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About The Mount Vernon School
Established in 1972, The Mount Vernon School, serves over 1,200 students in preschool through grade 12 on our 40-acre Atlanta campus. As a leading innovative, independent school in the country, Mount Vernon’s brand of innovation, expansion, and growth have emerged over the last decade, impacting schools in the US and across the globe through Mount Vernon Ventures, a research, strategy, and consulting division of the School. In addition, in 2021 the School launched a global online program for grade 9-12 to meet the needs of today’s flexible family. Through established partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and civic environments, our mission is to design a better world…together.
