Joshua Lanney of Concord receives Mahady Award during Saint Michael's College commencement week celebrations

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Joshua Lanney of Concord recevies Saint Michael's College Mahady Award from Heidi St. Peter

COLCHESTER, VT (05/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Joshua Lanney, son of Ann and Robert Lanney of Concord was awarded the Frank G. Mahady Memorial Award during the week of May 11 to 14, celebrating the Saint Michael's College 105th commencement.

Lanney, who graduated from Saint Michael's May 14th with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and Spanish, cum laude, earned the Mahady award for "best demonstrating the qualities of moral leadership and social justice which were important to Judge Mahady, and who demonstrates the potential for making a significant contribution to the causes of peace and social justice."

Heidi St. Peter, director of the SMC service program MOVE, presented the award, citing Lanney's "intelligence, hard work and determination, saying, Josh had a vision to create a program at St. Mike's to address the human rights of migrant workers on Vermont farms.

Collaborating with Burlington's Migrant Justice program, Josh recruited SMC volunteers, and coordinated trainings with UVM and Middlebury students to teach English and work with the migrant community. He eventually became a volunteer coordinator at Migrant Justice, where the director of MJ, said, Josh went above and beyond anything they could have hoped for. He added, "Vermont is truly a better place thanks to Josh's leadership and commitment, where our migrant worker neighbors are starting to feel welcomed, supported, and hope for better lives."

Josh Lanney was also described as a gifted pianist and composer with a CD for sale.

"Josh is a peacemaker among us, bound to make a difference," Ms. St. Peter said in conclusion of the award presentation.

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 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 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.

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