Needham resident Claire McQuillen graduates from Saint Michael's College, earns a top award

Deloitte Touche HR Exec James Wall tells graduates the Liberal Arts were never more important.

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Saint Michael's College senior class President & VP give award to Claire McQuillen of Needham. Photo by Jeff Clarek.

COLCHESTER, VT (05/24/2011)(readMedia)-- Claire E. McQuillen, daughter of Dr. Daniel and Michelle McQuillen of Needham, Mass., earned a bachelor's degree in political science and elementary education from Saint Michael's College during ceremonies May 16, 2011, on the campus of the liberal arts residential Catholic college in the Burlington area of Vermont. At a graduation-week banquet, McQuillen, a 2007 graduate of Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Mass., also was awarded a Community Service Award, presented annually to "students who in some way involve themselves in the activities of the college community and the local community."

In presenting the Community Service Award, Senior Class Vice President Frederick A. Osborne said McQuillen has been a large part of the Student Association, serving as class president for two years and secretary of programming for two years. She also has been a member of the Dance Team for four years, including captain as a senior. McQuillen also was involved in the college's volunteer service organization, M.O.V.E. (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts) on both domestic trips and an international trip to Kolkata, India. She also has been part of the Orientation Board as a leader. "Claire has worked selflessly for our school and class and has left an impact on so many of the students here that surely they will take with them forever," Osborne said.

James Wall '74 H'07, global managing director of human resources for Deloitte Touche Tomatsu, a multinational corporation with 2,000 partners and 28,000 employees, was the featured speaker at the Saint Michael's College 104th commencement. "The value of a liberal-arts education at Saint Michael's College has never been more relevant than it is today – never," he declared. "My Saint Michael's experience taught me how to learn. Nothing is more important in today's world." Wall served on the college's board of trustees for 12 years, four of those as chairman.

Some 435 undergraduates received bachelor's degrees at the ceremony as well as 95 graduate students who earned master's degrees. These numbers include students earning degrees in August 2010 and December 2010, but receiving their diplomas May 16th.

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.