Degrees, Academic Honors For Ellington, Somers College Students

ELLINGTON/SOMERS, CT — Here are some recent notable accomplishments by local college students, as provided by readMedia Newswire.

American International College, Springfield MA

• American International College has named 610 students to the Dean's List for spring semester 2021, including Avery Foye and Marissa Long, both of Somers, and Clarissa Welti of Ellington. Dean's List students are full time students who have achieved a 3.3 to 4.0 GPA.

Bryant University, Smithfield RI

• Bryant University is pleased to recognize two students from Ellington who have been named to the President's List for the spring 2021 semester. They are Benjamin Heyman, class of 2022, and Andrew Heyman, class of 2024. The President's List is an academic distinction reserved for Bryant's highest achievers who earn a GPA of 4.0 or better for at least 12 semester hours of work.
• Bryant University is pleased to recognize local students who have been named to the Deans' List for the spring 2021 semester. They are Benjamin Heyman, class of 2022, from Ellington; Andrew Heyman, class of 2024, from Ellington; Daniel Barrett, class of 2021, from Ellington; Michael Grassetti, class of 2021, from Somers; Gina Catellier, class of 2022, from Somers; Matthew Kiernan, class of 2023, from Somers; Gavin Laughlan, class of 2024, from Ellington; and Cassandra Rich, class of 2024, from Somers.

Clark University, Worcester MA

• Clark University awarded 490 bachelor's degrees, 501 master's degrees and 10 doctorates during the University's 117th Commencement ceremonies. Alexandrea Rae Banks, of Ellington, graduated with a Master of Business Administration. Rowan Moody, of Ellington, graduated with a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science.

Curry College, Milton MA

• On Sunday, May 23, Curry College honored 687 graduates from the Class of 2021 in its 141st Commencement celebration. The ceremony was live-streamed from the Walter M. Katz Field to approximately 2,300 family members, friends, alumni, faculty and staff, among other Curry community members. Local graduates were Jessica Allard of Somers, Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education; Zachary Mozzer of Ellington, Bachelor of Arts in Business Management; and Mackenzie Wyllie of Somers, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Emerson College, Boston MA

• Katelin Berube, a native of Ellington, has been named to Emerson College's Dean's List for the spring 2021 semester. Berube is majoring in Writing, Lit and Publishing and is a member of the Class of 2023. The requirement to make Emerson's Dean's List is a grade point average of 3.7 or higher.

Hofstra University, Hempstead NY

• Grace Dubiel of Ellington excelled during the spring 2021 semester, achieving a GPA of at least 3.5 to earn a spot on the Dean's List.

Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport IA

• Kiara Stone of Ellington has been named to the spring 2021 trimester Dean's List at Palmer College of Chiropractic's main campus in Davenport, Iowa.

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY

• Janine Bushey of Somers graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in graphic design. Some 4,000 degrees were conferred in the 2020-2021 academic year at all of RIT's campuses. Due to New York state COVID-19 occupancy restrictions, commencement was celebrated May 14-15 in smaller ceremonies by college and were live-streamed for graduates' family and friends.
• Jared Cranna of Somers was named to the Dean's List at Rochester Institute of Technology for the 2021 spring semester. Cranna is in the mechanical engineering program.

Springfield College, Springfield MA

• Springfield College recognizes the following local 2021 graduates: Emily Woznick of Ellington, Master of Education degree in Education; April Phelps of Ellington, Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science/Pre-physician Assistant; Dakota Aldrich of Ellington, Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science and Pre-Physical Therapy; Lauren Eastwood of Somers, Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science; Hunter Bowers of Somers, Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education; Alaina Murphy of Somers, Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in Physical Therapy; Zachary Varnauskas of Somers, Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in Physical Therapy; Alec Kapino of Somers, Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant; Kenneth McCarthy of Somers, Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant; Daniel Leonard of Ellington, Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Management; and Abigail Wylie of Ellington, Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management. Springfield College concluded its 2021 Commencement Weekend ceremonies with eight separate in-person ceremonies at Stagg Field on the Springfield College main campus, four on Saturday, May 15 and four on Sunday, May 16.

Tufts University, Medford MA

• Tufts University recently announced the dean's list for the spring 2021 semester. Among students earning dean's list honors is Tina Ma of Ellington, class of 2023. Dean's list honors at Tufts University require a semester grade point average of 3.4 or greater.

University of New Hampshire, Durham NH

• Three local students have been named to the Dean's List at the University of New Hampshire for the spring 2021 semester. They are William Jones of Ellington, High Honors; Jenni Giacalone of Ellington, Honors; and Anna Kalinowski of Somers, Highest Honors. Highest honors are awarded to students who earn a semester grade point average of 3.85 or better out of a possible 4.0. Students with a 3.65 to 3.84 average are awarded high honors and students whose grade point average is 3.5 through 3.64 are awarded honors.

Western New England University, Springfield MA

• Western New England University's undergraduate commencement was held on Saturday, May 15. Over 480 students received degrees., including five from Somers and one from Ellington. They are Alan Louis Blais of Somers, Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Criminal Justice;
  James M. Goodnight of Somers, BS in Health Sciences; Juliana Marie Smith of Somers, BS in Health Studies; Peter Thomas Garlick of Somers, Magna Cum Laude with a BSBA in Accounting; Jarod P. Goodnight of Somers, BSBA in Accounting; and Samuel W. Draper of Ellington, BSE in Mechanical Engineering.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

• A half-dozen local undergraduate students were named to the spring 2021 Dean's List. Those students and their majors are Joseph Calcasola of Somers, class of 2022, mechanical engineering; Trevor Parks of Somers, class of 2023, mechanical engineering; Reily Siegel of Ellington, class of 2023, computer science; Kayla Carpenter of Ellington, class of 2024, chemical engineering; Samantha Curtis of Ellington, class of 2024, international & global studies; and Spencer Whitford of Somers, class of 2024, biomedical engineering. The criteria for the WPI Dean's List differs from most other universities as WPI does not compute a grade point average (GPA). Instead, WPI defines the Dean's List by the amount of work completed at the A level in courses and projects.

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