When Trey Murphy III, ’18, returns to Cary Academy as this year’s Commencement speaker, he comes not just as an NBA standout but as someone profoundly shaped by a community that nurtured his drive, steadiness, and sense of purpose long before he took the national stage.  Ask him what he remembers most from his time […]

Outside Katie Taylor’s and Marcella Brideson’s sixth-grade language arts and world cultures classrooms, students have spilled into the hallway, clustered around tablets and draft pages, peering over one another’s shoulders.      One group debates color palettes. A warm orange, someone argues, feels more inviting. Another student isn’t convinced; it competes with the photographs. Across […]

How one seventh-grade awakening became the foundation for a career spent helping students discover their own.  You might call it a full-circle moment.  Long before Lucy Dawson became Cary Academy’s Middle School Dean of Students—and long before she helped shape a seventh-grade humanities experience known for its intellectual depth, interdisciplinary connections, and student-centered care—she was […]

Charlotte’s path to purpose started in MaLi Burnett’s biology class, where she worked as a teaching assistant during her sophomore year. The role would evolve into co-designing and leading an “Ecology at CA” Discovery Term, during which Dadd learned about native and invasive species and environmental design principles through field trips to botanical gardens and parks. She applied her newfound knowledge by collaborating with peers to design and construct a wildlife pond behind the Center for Math and Science, now used as a real-world interactive lab for studying aquatic ecosystems.

College and career readiness have long been the cornerstone goals of independent schools, with rigorous academics taking center stage.  Indeed, CA is renowned for its exceptional academics and student outcomes. By many polls and metrics, we are topping the charts and living our mission of academic excellence. Our students represent us at internships in ways […]

Jamie Berger, ’09, is a passionate environmental justice advocate, writer, and documentary filmmaker on a mission to end factory farming. In 2022, her critically acclaimed feature-length film, “The Smell of Money,” exposed the environmental, social, and economic injustices perpetuated by one of North Carolina’s most powerful agricultural industries. Now, she aims to ignite a global […]

Most in the CA community know Heidi Maloy as a beloved Upper School science teacher. That’s a fair characterization, of course. After all, she’s played a pivotal role in shaping CA’s science curriculum for over 21 years. In truth, however, she is much more: a creative scientific storyteller who empowers students to weave their own […]