December Champlain Graduates Honored at Intimate Reception

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Family and friends gather in Champlain's Hauke Conference Room for the December Graduation reception

BURLINGTON, VT (12/08/2014)(readMedia)-- A reception was held Saturday for 49 undergraduate students and three graduate students completing their degree programs after the Fall 2014 semester. Along with remarks from President Donald Laackman and Provost Dr. Laurie Quinn, three graduating students spoke to family and friends gathered in Hauke Conference Center. Speaking on behalf of traditional undergraduates was Caitlin Douglas of Farmington, ME, and representing Continuing Professional Studies adult students, Mary Wilson. Katrina Bennett of Colchester, Vt., was the graduate student representative speaker.

President Laackman welcomed students and families with a speech of thankfulness for the support of friends and family and pride for being a Champlain graduate. "For the rest of your life, every time you apply for a job, offer yourself up for nomination to a board or run for office, you will have a resume that includes your degree from Champlain College. It is a mark of distinction and achievement. Be proud," he said.

He invited students and their families to join him at the spring commencement ceremony in May, but spoke of the true value of this intimate mid-year reception. "Today, we come together to honor graduates of Champlain College. We also have a graduation ceremony in the spring, and some of you may choose to participate in that ceremony, too. That ceremony is full of pomp and circumstance. The ceremony today, however, is more intimate. It gives us the opportunity for more personal interaction. And in that way, it is a gathering in keeping with the value of Champlain's human touch."

Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Laurie Quinn then announced each student speaker before calling names to confer the degrees.

Katrina Bennett received her Masters of Science in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies. She currently works as the Associate Director of Financial Aid at Champlain College and was recently elected as the Vice President of Staff Council. She noted that she has been able to utilize the skills learned in the program every day at work and volunteering at the Burlington Community Justice Center, including how to be an active listener, deescalate heated situations and how to help others in conflict. "I have gained so much more than just a masters degree through this program," she noted. "All the skills I have learned through this program are invaluable to me, and I cherish the journey of personal growth this program took me on."

Before setting off to study abroad in Dubrovnik, Croatia last fall, graphic design and digital media graduate Caitlin Douglas shared the story of how she re-invented herself during college. "It's so easy to worry what others think of you whether that be by starting a conversation, not having a cool story of your own, not being beautiful enough and by asking too many questions. But when you can see how much freedom all of those things give you, you can discover what an advantage you have. You are more confident, people enjoy talking with you, you are happy, you know what you want and you can still have fun.

"So in summary, open your mouth, listen to learn not to respond, own who you are, be upfront, ask for clarification and don't stop imagining, because Neal Walsch said, 'life begins where your comfort zone ends,'" Douglas said.

Mary Wilson, a Continuing Professional Studies student, was presented with a bachelor's degree in Accounting on Saturday. She plans to continue her career in Human Resources and use her accounting degree in her retirement from HR to achieve her dream. She spoke very highly of her advisor Travis Perry and caring, passionate instructors online and in-person.

Upon the completion of student speakers, Quinn invited President Laackman and Dylan Cullen '17, President of the Student Government Association (SGA), to gather at the podium to confer 51 degrees. Since 2013, the SGA has funded the College's tradition to present a Vermont handcrafted wooden Champlain Spyglass to graduating students in hopes that they will be placed at their place of employment to remind them of their time at Champlain.

Photos from the reception and ceremony can be found and downloaded for personal use at https://www.flickr.com/photos/champlaincollege/sets/72157649244014079/

Graduate students presented with a Champlain spyglass and master's degree on Saturday are:

Katrina Bennett, MS, Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies

Richard Parks, Masters of Business Administration

Christopher Weaver, Managing Innovation and Information Technology

Undergraduate and Continuing Professional Studies students presented with a Champlain spyglass and bachelor's degree on Saturday are:

Tia Aiello, Early Childhood/Elementary Education

Alison Barnes, Public Relations

Jeffrey Blair, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Anna Charland, Psychology

Patrick Coggins, Communication

Matthew Considine, Computer and Digital Forensics

Stephanie Dale, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Ann Del Moro, Environmental Policy

Kristi Dickinson, Health Care Administration

Lawuo Dolo, Accounting

Caitlin Douglass, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Taylor Downs, Marketing

Alexander Dragos, Business

Hunter Emery, Criminal Justice

Kevin Frank, Criminal Justice

Daniele Graziani, Business Administration

Alexander Greenberg, Marketing

Kimberly Gregg, Communication

Benjamin Heitmann, Broadcast & Streaming Media

Paige Humphrey, Business Administration

Alexander Joch, Broadcast & Streaming Media

Lawrence King, Professional Studies

Andrew Kunkel, Communication

Jack Lang, International Business

Max Lazebnik, Graphic Design and Digital Media

Brittany LeClair, Early Childhood/Elementary Education

Anthony Lefemine, Communication

Andrew Maiarino, Communication

Daniel McKeown, Computer Networking and Information Security

Eric Mekelburg, Business Administration

Kristy Miller, Paralegal

Sandra Murphy, Public Relations

Ann Murray, Accounting

Christian Ntsiba Gassuet, Network Security and Administration

Dillon Palmer, Criminal Justice

Colin Powers, Public Relations

Amy Quaglietta, Business Management

Rita Richardson, Business Management

Danielle Ring, Integrated Studies

William Risley, Business Administration

Robert Rosit, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Katelyn Sawyer, Criminal Justice

Karly Terrio, Communication

Mary Trepanier, Health Care Management

Tyler Uhlendorff, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Veronica Weaver, Graphic Design & Digital Media

Mary Wilson, Accounting

Hongxia Zhao, Accounting

More information about the Spring 2015 Commencement can be found at http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/commencement-2015

About Champlain College

Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 379 Colleges: 2015 Edition. Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges and is ranked in the top tier of 2014 Regional Colleges in the North. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.