Elizabeth Masison of Plainville receives Fairbanks Memorial Award at Saint Michael's College commencement

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Elizabeth "Sunny" Masison receives top award from Saint Michael's College President John J. Neuhauser

COLCHESTER, VT (05/24/2012)(readMedia)-- Elizabeth Marie (Sunny) Masison, daughter of Ann and James Masison of Plainville, was awarded the Katherine Fairbanks Memorial Award on May 14th at the Saint Michael's College 105th commencement exercises.

Ms. Masison, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and in Spanish, magna cum laude, earned the Fairbanks Award, given to the graduating woman "who demonstrates commitment and achievement related to the intellectual, spiritual, moral and social values of Saint Michael's College."

The VP for Academic Affairs presented the award and said, "Sunny is a model student and a model student citizen." She was described as having intellectual energy, a great work ethic, and a love of the liberal arts.

She served as academic secretary for the Student Association, providing "an important student voice as the college was undergoing significant curricular change."

She has also been very active in the college's service organization, MOVE, serving as a Core Team member for two years and as a leader of the extended service program. On a service trip to Immokalee, Florida, Ms. Masison, who speaks Spanish, was lauded for helping groups of students and migrant workers communicate. One member of the trip said, "Sunny has a compassionate vision of the world, a joy in life and people, and a positive outlook."

Commencement speaker, MTV media pioneer and humanitarian, Tom Freston, a member of the Saint Michael's graduate class of 1967, told the graduates hard work is key to your future. "My advice," he said, "is really to look for a career in fields that are on the ascent-social innoviation-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 commencement exercises held May 14th in the SMC Ross Sports Center. Some 4000 people including graduates and their families and friends, and faculty and staff of the college, located in Burlington, Vermont, heard excellent speeches from two students, from the college president, the chairman of the board, and from main speaker Tom Freston.

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.