Saint Michael's College names Gavan O'Shea of Louisville Alumnus of the Year

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Gavan O'Shea named Alumnus of the Year at Saint Michael's College

COLCHESTER, VT (06/13/2013)(readMedia)-- At a gathering of classmates and friends at the Saint Michael's College Reunion 2013, Gavan O'Shea, a graduate of the Saint Michael's class of 1993 and a resident of Louisville, KY, was named Alumnus of the Year for his class.

Angela Armour, Saint Michael's director of alumni and parent relations, presented the award at ceremonies held June 8 on the campus of the Burlington, Vermont college.

Ms. Armour outlined service to his alma mater of Gavan O'Shea, a human resources professional. O'Shea is employed by Human Resources Research Organization. On graduating from Saint Michael's, he was named "Outstanding Graduating Psychology Major" for his year. He continued his education, receiving a master's degree from Villanova and his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Virginia Tech.

Throughout his college and his post-college years, Mr. O'Shea has been a major supporter of Saint Michael's College. An active student during his four years on campus, he was a member of the Student Association, the college's service organization MOVE, the Peace and Justice Club, Amnesty International and the award-winning student newspaper The Defender. He also studied abroad in Cork Ireland, where, Ms. Armour said, "he likely felt right at home. "

Gavan O'Shea served on the Saint Michael's Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2005-2011, first as a two-year club representative and then for a four-year director's position. During his term on the Alumni Board, he was part of the committee that created the Career Symposium, an annual event that brings alumni from across the country to campus to speak to students about their chosen career field. He served as a panelist at the first Symposium in 2009.

Mr. O'Shea co-chaired the Greater Washington, D.C. Alumni Club for six years, and planned a host of events for alumni and parents in the area. He orchestrated local service projects for the Club, working to clean up trails on Roosevelt Island, clearing up the grounds at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and volunteering at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Most recently, Gavan O'Shea has been working with the College's Admissions Office to recruit students from his new home of Louisville, Kentucky.

Gavan O'Shea and his wife, Molly, have five-year-old twins Julia and Will.

At Saint Michael's College www.smcvt.edu  students are challenged to do their best, find their niche, take on opportunities to grow, and immerse themselves in academic pursuits. Intellectual rigor, compassion, teamwork, caring-these characterize a Saint Michael's experience. A residential Catholic college, Saint Michael's is steeped in the social justice spirit of its founding priests, the Edmundites. Saint Michael's is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns. Headed by President John J. Neuhauser, the college has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Identified by the Princeton Review, 2013 as one of the nation's Best 377 Colleges, and included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013, Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Goldwater, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

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