Shelburne resident Thato Ratsebe earns appreciation award from Saint Michael's senior class

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Thato Ratsebe wins class appreciation award, left, shown with Class Offiers Michael Herring and Megan Flann

COLCHESTER, VT (05/22/2012)(readMedia)-- During Commencement Week activities May 11-14 at Saint Michael's College, Shelburne resident Thato Ratsebe, interim director of multicultural student affairs, received a Class Appreciation Award, presented annually to members of the college faculty and staff who have made a significant impact within the class.

In presenting the award, Senior Class Vice President Michael Herring recounted how Ratsebe earned her bachelor's degree at Saint Michael's in 2005 and a master's in administration in 2008. She was a student leader through those years and served the residence life staff as Resident Assistant and Resident Director for two years. When the director of multicultural student affairs was granted a leave last summer to complete his doctoral program, Ratsebe was willing and able to fill in, performing a superb job in the role since last July, Herring said. "Whether functioning in the role of implementer and planner of educational programs or intervening in a student crisis, Thato brings maturity, grace and insight to her work," he said.

The Commencement speaker for Saint Michael's College this year was MTV media pioneer and humanitarian Tom Freston, a member of the Saint Michael's Class of 1967. He told the graduates that hard work is a key to their 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 college's 105th commencement exercises, held May 14th in the college's Ross Sports Center. Some 4,000 people attended, including graduates and their families and friends, faculty and staff. Along with Freston, they heard excellent speeches from two students, the college president and the chairman of the board.

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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