Class of 2025: Stories of Growth and Connection

At Ravenscroft, every student’s experience is shaped by the opportunities they pursue, the challenges they embrace and the relationships they build along the way. Across classrooms, stages, fields and studios, students are encouraged to push themselves, discover new passions and grow both academically and personally.

As they prepare for the next chapter, four members of the Class of 2025 reflect on the moments that defined their time at Ravenscroft. From building confidence in the classroom to finding community, these stories highlight the many ways Ravenscroft prepares students for success beyond graduation.

Bryce Augusti ’25

College Plans: Columbia University
Intended Major: Political Science and Creative Writing

Ravenscroft has so many opportunities. If you want to be involved, you can.

— Bryce Augusti ’25

Trailing by two touchdowns with only two minutes to play might seem like a hopeless situation to most — an insurmountable obstacle. But not to Bryce Augusti ’25, a jack-of-all-trades offensive lineman for Ravenscroft’s varsity football team. With crosstown rival North Raleigh Christian Academy leading for the entire game — and a loss meaning missing the NCISAA playoffs in his junior year — things certainly looked dire. But the Ravens' 35-34 comeback win marked a stunning reversal of fortune. As Augusti rushed the field to celebrate with his teammates, he remembers thinking, “This is what they mean when they say, ‘You can do hard things.’ I learned that I could do those things.”

And he did.

While athletics played a pivotal role in his Ravenscroft experience, Augusti always prioritized being a student-athlete — with an emphasis on student first. Head football coach Jim Gibbons praises Augusti’s commitment to academics, saying, “He holds himself and his teammates accountable and leads by example, helping others when they struggle.”

As a true lifer — having joined Ravenscroft in Pre-K — Augusti’s major takeaway from his 13 years as a Raven is simple: "Challenging yourself is the only way to grow." That philosophy meant embracing packed days filled with honors and AP classes, all-state choir concerts and homecoming football games — sometimes all in one day.

"It’s all possible," he says, adding, "Ravenscroft has so many opportunities. If you want to be involved, you can."

Bryce Augusti ’25

Nola Clifford ’25

College Plans: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Intended Major: Biology

If you’re willing to work, you can do it. The trying is what sets you apart.

— Nola Clifford ’25

As a newly minted freshman in Jessica Cummings' geometry class, Nola Clifford ’25 vividly remembers her first math test at Ravenscroft. “I always struggled with math,” she recalls.

The night before the test, her father — a teacher of AP Calculus — sat down with her at the dinner table to review angles, lines and rays. But once he saw the impeccably prepared note packet Mrs. Cummings had provided, the Clifford family breathed a little easier.

“I knew I had teachers behind me,” Clifford says, with the notes as evidence of her teacher’s commitment to her students.

While that first geometry quiz turned out to be a success, there were bumps along the way — including her first AP U.S. History test junior year. "That’s when I learned how to ask for help," she says. She went to teacher Mark Laskowski with tears in her eyes, and still remembers his reassuring words: “We’ll take care of you.”

“I simply reminded her that one test score doesn’t define a person,” Laskowski shares. “But it did give us a great place to start our march toward greatness. We went over every question, finding new ways she could approach the material and prepare for assessments.”

For Clifford, this support from faculty and staff is what set Ravenscroft apart from other schools she attended before high school: “They want students to do well, and I felt that in every classroom.”

One of Clifford’s biggest takeaways? A mantra worth remembering: "If you’re willing to work, you can do it. The trying is what sets you apart."

Nola Clifford ’25

Henry Zhang ’25

College Plans: Duke University
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering

Ravenscroft helped me get to know so many people, which makes me open to knowing even more when I get to college.

— Henry Zhang ’25

In fifth grade, Henry Zhang ’25 picked up a trumpet, put it to his lips and played "for about ten seconds" before realizing the instrument wasn’t for him. He quickly turned his attention to the clarinet — and his mastery of the woodwind has made him an integral part of the Ravenscroft Fine Arts program ever since.

“It’s helped me make all kinds of connections and share my talents,” Zhang says, noting that while he enjoys rehearsals, performances and competitions, what matters most is "making art for the sake of making art."

Even without an audience, the music still matters to Henry.

“Henry constantly looks to others to make music and collaborate,” says Matthew Parunak, Ravenscroft’s Co-Director of Bands. “Even as a senior, Henry has the youthful exuberance to find opportunities to make music with others.”

Zhang credits Ravenscroft — and especially the Fine Arts program — with helping him connect to both peers and teachers. He points to rehearsals, performances and traveling to festivals as ways he expanded his social circle.

“I wouldn’t know a lot of people otherwise,” he admits.

Running for SGA executive secretary during his senior year pushed those connections even further, exposing him to even more students and faculty he might not have otherwise met.

“Ravenscroft helped me get to know so many people, which makes me open to knowing even more when I get to college," Zhang says. "There will be more people on a bigger campus, but I’m ready for it.”

Henry Zhang ’25

Elijah Smith ’25

College Plans: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Intended Major: Biology and Music

I learned a lot about my teachers as people.

— Elijah Smith ’25

As a senior in Joel Karpowitz’s film class, Elijah Smith ’25 had a question about a research paper he was writing about Citizen Kane. When he cracked open the door to the Upper School English suite, he was surprised to find the central table crowded with English teachers — not in a meeting, but deep in animated conversation about books.

“At first, I thought they were having a meeting, but they were just talking about the subject they teach,” Smith recalls. “I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall because they were talking with such passion.” (He eventually got his essay question answered, too.)

This desire to connect with teachers has defined Smith’s Ravenscroft experience. Jonathan Avery, who taught him Latin for all four years of high school, describes him as a student of wide-ranging interests, from Latin grammar to jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.

“Elijah has stopped by to see me several times a week since his early days in the Upper School — sometimes with an academic question, sometimes just to check in,” he recalls.

Smith also credits conversations with his former advisor, A.J. Mezoff — where they bonded over shared interests like playing the cello and birdwatching — as essential to building his self-confidence.

“I learned a lot about my teachers as people,” Smith says. “And my peers, too.”

Small class sizes and easy access to teachers gave Smith what he calls "the foundation of self-advocacy," a skill he knows will serve him well as he heads to college — where he’s eager to build those same kinds of connections.

Elijah Smith ’25