Student Success: Brookline Students Named to Dean's Lists – June 17

The following press releases are via the readMedia Newswire, sent in the last week.

George Sternlicht is Recognized for Spring Sports Accomplishments at Pomfret School

Pomfret School is pleased to recognize the accomplishments of its spring term athletes. George Sternlicht, of Chestnut Hill, MA is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Sternlicht. A member of the boys' varsity tennis team this spring, George was named the Most Improved Player at the spring sports awards assembly.

George is a member of the Class of 2014.

Founded in 1894, Pomfret School is an independent college preparatory boarding and day school for 350 students in grades 9 through 12 from 26 states and 13 foreign countries. Set on a beautiful 500-acre campus in Northeastern Connecticut and brought to life by an exceptional faculty, Pomfret offers students a rich and rewarding experience.

Local Residents Receive Degrees at 144th WPI Commencement

Roger W. Ferguson Jr., President and CEO of TIAA-CREF, Delivers Keynote Address

WORCESTER, MA (06/12/2012)(readMedia)-- The following local residents graduated May 12 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

• Norman Lam of Brookline, Mass., was awarded a Master of Science degree in computer science.
• Olivia Richards of Brookline, Mass., was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering with high distinction.

A total of 1,077 degrees (718 bachelor's degrees, 349 master's, and 19 PhDs) were awarded during the ceremony, which took place outdoors on the WPI Quadrangle.

Thousands of students, their families and friends, trustees, and other special guests were on hand to experience the inspirational messages delivered by keynote speaker Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO of TIAA-CREF, and WPI President Dennis Berkey.

Honorary degrees were conferred upon Ferguson; president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Susan Windham-Bannister; Nancy Hopkins, Amgen Professor of Biology at MIT; and Robert L. Norton, Milton Prince Higgins II Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI.

In his commencement address, Ferguson said that the graduates are highly desired in the workplace due to the technical and human skills they've honed at WPI.

"Your education has given you a unique capacity for making an impact," said Ferguson. "You are doers. You are problem solvers and innovators. You are inventors and entrepreneurs. You are leaders. You are the kind of people who can deliver the innovation and progress that will enable our economy to thrive again. Just as your predecessors at WPI helped fuel the Industrial Revolution in New England, you can play a key role in keeping our nation strong and competitive in the 21st century global economy."

President Berkey told graduates to set high goals and to use the skills they learned at WPI to meet and resolve the challenges and threats facing the world. "The degrees we award today symbolize an important public good of which this university is exceedingly proud," he said. "...in respect of the difficult world you are about to tackle, and especially in light of the economic and political calamities that have plagued the world throughout your college years, it is painfully evident that the world needs rebuilding-and shaping into a more stable, just, and sustainable form. You are well prepared for this ominous challenge and we know that you will play a great part in the rebuilding that must be done. In so doing, set no modest goals. You have experienced the thrill, power, and satisfaction of achievement at the highest levels. Let that be your lifelong quest."

The Chairman's Exemplary Faculty Prize was also presented, for the sixth time, during WPI's 2012 Commencement. The prize was established in 2007 through the personal philanthropy of Donald K. Peterson '71, former chair of the WPI Board of Trustees. The award recognizes faculty members who, as true exemplars of the university's highest aspirations and most important qualities, excel in all relevant areas of faculty performance. One prize, in the amount of $10,000, was awarded this year to WPI Professor Yi Hua (Ed) Ma of the Department of Chemical Engineering.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 25 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.

Adam L'Esperance-Chouinard Named to Mount Ida College's Dean's List

Adam L'Esperance-Chouinard, a resident of Brookline, MA, has been named to the Dean's List for the 2012 spring semester at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts.

L'Esperance-Chouinard is one of 400 students honored for outstanding academic achievement by being named to the Dean's List. To make the Dean's List, students must have a grade point average of 3.33 or above.

About Mount Ida College

Founded in 1899, Mount Ida College is a private, co-educational undergraduate and graduate institution with approximately 1,500 full- and part-time students and a 13:1 student to faculty full-time equivalent ratio. Located in Newton, Massachusetts, just eight miles from Boston, Mount Ida College provides a diverse community of learners a challenging education that blends the liberal arts with professional preparation. We dedicate our energy, imagination and resources to empowering all students to achieve academically and contribute responsibly in a changing world. To learn more, visit the College's website at www.mountida.edu.

Local high school students awarded Saint Michael's College Book Award For Leadership in Volunteer Service & Academic Achievement

The following local high school students were awarded the 2012 Saint Michael's College Book Award for Academic Achievement with a Social Conscience:

• Kervin Hilaire of Brookline, a student at Brookline High School
• Ella MacVeagh of Brookline, a student at Brookline High School

The award recognizes students who demonstrate a commitment to leadership in volunteer service and academic achievement.

Saint Michael's, located in Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns, was founded on the belief that serving others is part of its Catholic tradition, and through the award seeks to honor those who demonstrate the true spirit of volunteerism.

Award recipients, named at schools throughout the country, are high school juniors who are inductees of the National Honor Society or an equivalent school-sponsored honors organization. They must demonstrate a commitment to service activities in high school or community organizations, taking leadership roles in these activities.

Winners were presented the book First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins 2000) by Loung Ung, a 1993 Saint Michael's College graduate who has become a widely acclaimed author. In First They Killed My Father, Ung gives a powerful autobiographical account, from a child's perspective, of surviving captivity during the genocidal Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. She reveals an indomitable spirit in the face of profound suffering, including the loss of both her parents and two of her siblings. Ung has written a riveting memoir about a family's survival, and in turn, about the development of Ung's on-going crusade for a landmine free world.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 376 Colleges, and included in the2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Jeremy Kazanjian-Amory Graduates From Colorado College

Jeremy Kazanjian-Amorygraduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Colorado College.

Kazanjian-Amory is the son of Jennifer Amory of Brookline, MA and Victor Kazanjian and Michelle Lepore of Natick, MA.

The college awarded 525 undergraduate degrees and five master of arts in teaching degrees at its 130th commencement ceremony, held on May 21 outdoors on Armstrong Quad.

Musician Abigail Washburn, a 1999 graduate of Colorado College, addressed the Class of 2012. In addition to Washburn, Colorado Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia and legendary jazz guitarist Johnny Smith also received honorary degrees.

Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 2,000 undergraduate students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week segments. The college also offers a master of arts in teaching degree. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu

Julie L Coleman Named to The University of Rhode Island Dean's List

The University of Rhode Island is pleased to announce that 4,042 undergraduates have qualified for the Spring 2012 Dean's List. The students represent nearly all of Rhode Island's cities and towns, all six New England states, New York and New Jersey, and many other states and nations.

To be included on the Dean's List, students must have completed 12 or more credits during a semester for letter grades with at least a 3.30 quality point average. Part-time students qualify with the accumulation of 12 credits with a 3.30 quality point average.

Julie L Coleman of Brookline, MA was named to the Dean's List.

The University of Rhode Island is known regionally and worldwide for its innovative, big ideas, adaptive intelligence and breakthrough solutions to today's puzzling problems. URI's pioneering research extends the University's influence well beyond its coastal borders, while its unique interdisciplinary courses provide its 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students with global opportunities in an intimate environment.