Student Standouts and Faculty Features for January 23, 2026

Student Standouts: Cox-Garleanu ’26, Banerjee ’27, Haywood ’28, Cabbabe ’31, and Gavin ’30

Faculty Features: Huber and Miller

Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.

Senior Selected as Regional Finalist for Coca-Cola Scholars Program

Congratulations to Isabelle Cox-Garleanu ’26, who was selected as one of 250 Regional Finalists out of 107,000+ initial applicants for the Coca-Cola Scholars Program, a 0.2% advancement rate nationwide! The Coca-Cola Scholars Program offers prestigious, merit-based scholarships to outstanding U.S. high school seniors who demonstrate exceptional leadership, service, and academic success. Way to go, Isabelle!

Junior Solos at Medal of Valor Luncheon & Invited to Perform at the 35th annual Law Enforcement and Private Security Appreciation Luncheon

Reina Banerjee ’27 was the featured soloist at the 54^th annual 2025 Medal of Valor Luncheon, sponsored by the Crusade Against Crime of America and the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs’ Association.

The Medal of Valor is presented in recognition of a conspicuous act of bravery exceeding the normal demands of police service. Since its inception in 1969, the Medal of Valor has been presented to over 700 police officers and local citizens. The recipients are selected each year from nominations submitted to the Medal of Valor Judges Committee by more than 140 Police Departments in the St. Louis Metropolitan area.

Banerjee said, “It was an incredible honor to be invited to sing the national anthem and God Bless America for an audience of over 550 men and women who are heroes in our community.” The ceremony was hosted by MICDS alumnus Tom Ackerman ’93.

Additionally, Banerjee was invited to perform at the 35^th annual Law Enforcement and Private Security Appreciation Luncheon, sponsored by ASIS, a global community of over 34,000 security professionals across industries and disciplines. The luncheon is an opportunity to recognize and demonstrate appreciation to security and law enforcement officers who have distinguished themselves and their respective organization through extraordinary performance in the line of duty.

Thank you, Reina, for sharing your talents with the greater St. Louis community!

Haywood Makes 1,000th Point in MICDS Basketball Career as a Sophomore

Recently, during the Girls Basketball game at the Sophie Cunningham Classic, sophomore Jordyn Haywood ’28 scored the 1,000th point of her high school career, becoming the first MICDS Girls Basketball player to ever do so in her sophomore season! Keep making history, Jordyn!

Seventh Grader Gallops to 1st-Place Finish at Meet Me in St. Louis Primetime Horse Show

Blair Cabbabe ’31 competed in the Meet Me in St. Louis Primetime Horse Show. Cabbabe and Ruby Slippers made their debut in the Children’s Pony Hunters class. They also secured a first-place finish, winning the 2-foot derby with a total score of 142 in a competitive field at the National Equestrian Center. Way to go, Blair and Ruby Slippers!

Eighth Grader Invited by U.S. Soccer to Participate in a Talent Identification Center

Emma Gavin ’30 was invited by U.S. Soccer to participate in a Talent Identification Center on January 28, 2025. Talent Identification Centers are opportunities for top talents to play games and train under the direction of U.S. Soccer Talent Identification Managers. They are designed to identify and evaluate top talents for U.S. Youth National Teams. Go Emma!

Faculty Feature: Patrick Huber Announced as Recipient of a 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Award

Our very own Patrick Huber, Arts Department – Upper School Visual Art Teacher, was announced by BroadwayWorld St. Louis as one of the winners of their 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! He won Best Scenic Design Of A Play Or Musical for his work with the St. Louis Actors’ Studio on Long Day’s Journey into Night. Bravo, Patrick!

Miller Talks Shakespeare at Modern Language Association Convention

On January 10, Dr. Nick Miller, Middle & Upper School English Teacher, joined an international panel of scholars at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association, where participants shared research on global musical adaptations. Miller’s presentation focused on adaptations of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in contemporary K-pop, examining how the play’s dream logic speaks to experiences of girlhood in a media-saturated world.

Reflecting on the session, Miller noted, “In eighth grade, we work hard to help students identify and analyze allusions in literature in order to help them see how texts speak to one another across time and media. We even use allusions in music—from Taylor Swift to J. Cole—to show how this process works. Now, as I prepare to teach A Midsummer Night’s Dream to our ninth-grade students, I am excited for them to engage with a text that is so frequently alluded to, helping them see how one of Shakespeare’s great comedies continues to feel relevant today.”

Miller‘s participation highlights the close relationship between classroom teaching and ongoing scholarly research, reinforcing the MICDS commitment to globally-engaged, interdisciplinary learning.