Jericho resident Samantha Merrill wins journalism award at Saint Michael's College

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Saint Michael's College adjunct professor Mike Donoghue gives Donoghue Award to Samantha Merrill of Jericho

COLCHESTER, VT (05/24/2011)(readMedia)-- At a banquet on May 13, Samantha R. Merrill '12, daughter of Mark and Susan Merrill of Jericho, VT, won the John D. Donoghue Award, presented to "the student, faculty member or administrator who has provided strong support, leadership and commitment to one of the college's student publications." Merrill is a 2008 graduate of Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho.

The award is named for John D. Donoghue '32, founder of the Saint Michael's student newspaper in 1947 and first chairman of the college's Journalism Department. John Donoghue's son, Michael Donoghue, lecturer in the Journalism Department and executive director of the Vermont Press Association, presented the award to Merrill, praising her notable work as features editor in the fall semester and executive editor in the spring semester for the Defender, student newspaper of Saint Michael's College.

"She helped provide inspired direction to a dedicated, hard-working staff committed to delivering the news that the readers wanted and needed to know," he said, noting that the Defender recently was judged as one of the top five college newspapers in New England. "This is pretty impressive when you consider that there are over 200 colleges and universities in New England and some ... produce daily editions," he said.

Merrill has a 3.78 Grade Point Average and was inducted in Kappa Tau Alpha, the Journalism Honor Society. She will graduate next winter in three and a half years. She is a journalism major with a minor in studio art. For her Senior Journalism Capstone Project, Merrill wrote a book on how different generations respond in different ways to digital technology in the work place.

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. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 371 Colleges, and is included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael's is one of only 280 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international 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 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.