Retaining a 3.95 cumulative grade point average for seven straight semesters is not a common thing to achieve. That is why Dr. Cheryl Kreger treated all 21 senior Valedictorian/Salutatorian candidates to a traditional Mercy tea in the Baggot Street Conference Room.

Alongside Dr. Kreger, Mrs. Carolyn Witte, Mr. Larry Baker, and Ms. Eleasha Tarplin, the candidates enjoyed for a light lunch and tea, in the spirit of the Mercy tradition started by Catherine McCauley. Each student had a different tea cup at her place setting, each a part of Dr. Kreger’s personal collection.

According to Dr. Kreger, the tea has been an honor for her to host over the years. She began the event to express her gratitude to each of the candidates for their hard work and dedication to Mercy High School.

Senior candidate Lauryn Hauncher agrees that it was, indeed, quite difficult to maintain the GPA required to be a candidate.

“High school has never been easy; it requires a lot of focus and sometimes sacrifice,” Hauncher said. “I am definitely proud of what I have achieved, though.”

Nevertheless, Hauncher says she felt like it paid off as she sat alongside her fellow candidates on Monday.

“The tea was really special,” she said. “It feels good to be acknowledged and I felt lucky to be associated with the other girls there. It was fun to sit down and chat with everyone there, especially in the middle of the school day.”