Sarah Kettelle of Cranston receives Henault Award during Saint Michael's College commencement week celebration

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Sarah Kettelle of Cranston receives award from Professor Sue Kuntz at Saint Michael's College

COLCHESTER, VT (05/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Sarah Kettelle, daughter of Joseph and Tessa Kettelle of Cranston was awarded the Henault award during the week, May 11-14, celebrating Saint Michael's College 105th commencement.

Ms. Kettelle, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and gender studies, earned the Dr. Marie J. Henault Award for contributing "to women's issues both on and off campus." The award is named for one of the first SMC women faculty members, a leader in the discussion of women's issues at Saint Michael's College.

Sarah Kettelle "combines intellectual curiosity and rigor with committed activism, all leavened by a vibrant personality and an irrepressible sense of humor," said Dr. Sue Kuntz in presenting the award. "The analysis of her findings (in a study titled Sexuality and the Double Standard) left some of us in the psychology department speechless, shaking our heads in agreement with what she found," Professor Kuntz said. She said Ms. Kettelle was a student who "gives us new insights-contributes to our knowledge in ways we hadn't expected.

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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