Colchester residents Benson, Olsen, Sherman earn appreciation awards from Saint Michael's senior class

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Allison Sherman receives award from class officers Michael Herring and Megan Flynn

COLCHESTER, VT (05/22/2012)(readMedia)-- During Commencement Week activities May 11-14 at Saint Michael's College, Colchester residents Birger Benson, associate professor of business administration and accounting, Paul Olsen, instructor of business administration and accounting, and Allison Sherman, assistant director for alumni and parent relations, each received a Class Appreciation Award, presented annually to members of the college faculty and staff who have made a significant impact within the class.

In presenting the award to Benson, Senior Class Vice President Michael Herring observed that Benson has been an important part of the college community for 35 years. "He developed a special bond with the Class of 2012 by offering classes that interest all academic majors," Herring said. "His dedication to shared learning has created a personal bond with students, which keeps classes upbeat and interesting," Herring said.

In the citation honoring Olsen, Senior Class President Megan Flynn said the instructor's link with this year's senior class began in the fall of 2008 when he taught a first-year seminar to many of her class members and continued through countless business classes that many had with him after that -- his friendly, caring and outgoing nature making him a favored unofficial adviser for many students. "He is always willing just to chat about anything," Flynn said.

Flynn spoke of Sherman's role with the class adviser for the Founders Society (the student ambassador program) and an adviser of the Student Association. Sherman also works hard in her official capacity to create relationships between current students and alumni with everybody's best interest at heart, Flynn said.

The Commencement speaker for Saint Michael's College this year was MTV media pioneer and humanitarian Tom Freston, a member of the Saint Michael's Class of 1967. He told the graduates that hard work is a key to their future. "My advice," he said, "is really to look for a career in fields that are on the ascent - social innovation - and bring an old-fashioned work ethic to them."

"There is great value and sustaining dignity in good old-fashioned hard work, whether that means crunching numbers or cleaning bathrooms," Freston said.

Some 478 students received bachelor's degrees and another 65 received master's degrees at the college's 105th commencement exercises, held May 14th in the college's Ross Sports Center. Some 4,000 people attended, including graduates and their families and friends, faculty and staff. Along with Freston, they heard excellent speeches from two students, the college president and the chairman of the board.

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 the 2012 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.

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