Degrees, Accolades Accorded To College Students From Ellington, Somers

ELLINGTON-SOMERS, CT — Here are some recent notable accomplishments by college students who hail from Ellington and Somers. The information is provided to Patch by readMedia Newswire.

Assumption University, Worcester MA

• Caroline Casey, of Ellington, was one of nearly 400 graduates to receive a bachelor's degree during Assumption University's 105th commencement exercises on Sunday, May 8, at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester.

Curry College, Milton MA

• Curry College welcomed Katie Bartlett of Ellington into the Alexander Graham Bell Honor Society. The objective of the Alexander Graham Bell (AGB) Honor Society is to promote and recognize academic excellence at Curry College. The Society is named for the famous inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, who was an early chancellor at Curry College. It was founded in 1971 to recognize and promote academic excellence through a variety of activities at Curry. The Alexander Graham Bell Honor Society is one of Curry's most distinguished organizations. Membership in the Society is limited to those students who have achieved Dean's List every semester while enrolled at Curry College.

Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic CT

• Eastern Connecticut State University inducted 34 students into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the national honor society for collegiate leadership, on March 6. Among the inductees was senior Natalie Devlin of Somers, who majors in English. Founded in 1914, ODK is a national leadership honor society that recognizes juniors and seniors who demonstrate remarkable leadership responsibility in campus programs, clubs and extracurricular activities. As of today, more than 235 colleges and universities throughout the country have a chapter of the ODK honor society. To be eligible, students must also have a minimum GPA of 3.77. Established at Eastern in 1994, the local ODK chapter has inducted more than 800 faculty, students and alumni into the society.
• Natalie Devlin of Somers was recipient of the 2022 Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award. The Barnard Award is the premier academic recognition of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System (CSCU) and is sponsored by the CSCU Foundation. Each year it recognizes 12 outstanding undergraduates from Connecticut's four state universities - Central, Eastern, Southern and Western. As an English major with a concentration in Secondary Education and a minor in History, Devlin has maintained a 3.99 GPA over four years, while also studying abroad at James Cook University in Australia in fall 2019. She has been named the recipient of the English Department's Award for Academic Excellence; served as vice president of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society; is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society; and has been a recipient of the Academic Excellence Scholarship for the past four years. Devlin's campus activities include serving as secretary of the Best Buddies Club and as a student ambassador for Eastern, conducting student tour guides at open houses and Accepted Students Days; and serving as a teaching assistant and writing tutor.

Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport IA

• Kiara Stone of Ellington graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic's main campus in Davenport, Iowa on February 25, 2022.

Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven CT

• Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, welcomed 1,971 new initiates from 78 universities during April 2022. Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year. Wula Cham of Somers was honored from Southern Connecticut State University.

Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester NH

• Five local students were named to the winter 2022 President's List. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above are named to the President's List. Honorees from Ellington were Colin Holmes, Shawna Fisher and Melissa Nadeau, while Somers residents honored were Darrell Mondello and Lorianne Carenzo.
• Brannen Wesley of Ellington was named to Southern New Hampshire University's winter 2022 Dean's List. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.500 to 3.699 are named to the Dean's List.

Stonehill College, Easton MNA

• Savanna Macaluso of Ellington was among 561 students to process at Stonehill College's 71st Commencement on Sunday, May 22, 2022. DeBrenna Agbenyiga, provost and vice president for academic affairs, presided over the ceremony.

Utah State University, Logan UT

• Rachel Bingham of Ellington graduated from Utah State University with an Associate of Science in General Studies.

Western New England University, Springfield MA

• The Western New England University chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), the honor society of AACSB-accredited business schools worldwide, inducted 27 students on April 28 into this prestigious organization. Eligible sophomores, juniors, and seniors comprise the top 10 percent of their respective classes and eligible graduate students are among the top 20 percent of their respective graduate programs. Honorees from Ellington were Brendan Couzens and Noah Welti.
• Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, welcomed 1,971 new initiates from 78 universities during April 2022. Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year. Morgan Holden of Ellington was honored from Western New England University.
• Samantha Hearn of Somers was inducted into the Alpha Mu Alpha National Honor Society on May 5 at the Western New England University chapter's annual induction ceremony in the Univeristy Commons. Alpha Mu Alpha is the national marketing honorary society for qualified undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral marketing students and marketing faculty. Under the auspices of the American Marketing Association (AMA), Alpha Mu Alpha acknowledges outstanding scholastic achievement on a highly competitive basis. Honor recipients must be senior undergraduate students with a minimum overall GPA of 3.25, members of the Western New England University Marketing Association, and members of the University's Collegiate Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Hearn is working toward a BSBA in Marketing Communication/Advertising.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

• WPI awarded nearly 1,200 bachelor's degrees at the undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 14. Joseph Calcasola of Somers majored in Mechanical Engineering, and
  Adrianne Curtis of Somers majored in Aerospace Engineering.