At least 300 students, alumni, donors and family members filled Dibden Center for the Arts April 26 for the annual JSC Honors Convocation award ceremony.
For over two hours, the college celebrated achievements across the community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
First on the roster were the department awards and scholarships, where faculty from each academic department took turns at the podium to bestow honors on distinguished students.
Awards for exceptional work and scholarship announcements were given as each department had a combination of both to award.
The awards in Behavioral Sciences were presented by department co-chair Susan Green. The award for Anthropology/Sociology went to Colleen Twomey; Psychology to Amanda Lotter; Wellness and Alternative Medicine to Daniele Racioppi; and Master of Arts in Counseling to Rebecca Walter-Proulx.
Business and Economics department chair Todd Comen presented the Business Management Award to both Nikolaus Holm and Kyle Myers and the Hospitality and Tourism Management Award to Morgan Goodyear.
Department Chair David McGough presented the Education awards to Ashley Brown, Byron Fletcher, and Kathryn Johnson. Amara Mackillop received the Agnes J. Duffy Award in Reading Instruction, and Dawn Baker and Eileen McKusick were both given the Master of Arts in Education Award.
The Environmental and Health Sciences department chair Elizabeth Dolci presented the Environmental Sciences award to Nathaniel Weiss; the Biology Award to Ryan Joy; the Health Sciences Award to Marie Jennings, and the Outdoor Education Awards to Josh Bassin and Jessica Pafumi.
Co-Chair of Fine and Performing Arts Ken Leslie presented awards to Lyle Orr in Art History; Jessica Brodeur in Art Education and Printmaking; Katelyn Breault and Alice Jones in Ceramics; Hayes Johnson in Digital Media; Sean Crossett in Drawing; Chelsea Spear in Painting; Nina Markiw in Photography; and Laura Weber in Sculpture. Mary Jane Morse and Kylie Wolgamott received the Master of Fine Arts Awards.
Steve Blair, co-chair of Fine and Performing Arts presented the Dance Awards to Lindsey McNamee, Emily Nye, and Elizabeth Ponchak; the Music Award to Joshua Clinger; the Musical Theater Award to Lynne Dumais; the Theater Award to Claire Demarais; and the Technical Theater Award to Taryn Glasser. David Brown received the Andy Shapiro Award.
Professor Paul Silver presented the Humanities Award to Alayna Ballantine; the George and Charlotte Domke Award to Louis Weller; and the Nelson Papucci Awards to Julia Burgess and Dylan Giambatista. The recipients of the Vermont History and Government Awards were Philip Demas, Christopher Erickson, Granger Gosnell, Ian James, James Luce, Preston Nicholas, Colin Santee, Chelsea Spear, and Austin St. Cyr.
Mathematics Department Chair Julie Theoret presented the Mathematics Award to Nikolaus Holm.
Professor Dan Towner presented the Writing and Literature Awards. The Journalism Award was given to Tom Benton and Dan Schwartz, the Literature Award to Lisa Korth, the Roger Rath and Mark Canavan Award to Whitney Nellé, and the Sara Taylor Memorial Award to Taylor Shaw.
Co-director of the External Degree Program Valerie Edwards presented the EDP Awards to Dawn Bakker, Edward Ballantyne, Will Eberle, Jason Fleming, Byron Fletcher, Michael Jennette, Patrick Peters, and Heather Smith.
Karen Madden, Director of Academic Support Services presented the Distinguished Student Award to Thomas Brace and the Non-Traditional Learner Award to Neil Herrick.
Dean of students Dave Bergh presented the newly created Rising Senior Award to Justin Reed.
The JSC Chorale provided a short break, performing the JSC Alma Mater and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Students Marcus Provost and Michelle Sawyer-Houle soloed on the latter.
Several members of the Chorale left the stage while those remaining rearranged themselves as the JSC Chamber Singers. The small group performed the final song, titled Pseudo Yoik, before retiring.
Michele Boomhower, president of the JSC Alumni Council, then conferred the Alumni Association Awards. Professor of Behavioral Sciences Dr. Gina Mireault received the 2012 Distinguished Faculty Award. Susan Collins (class of 1970) received the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Distinguished Staff Award went to Sally Laughlin, JSC’s former director of development and alumni relations. Laughlin retired in January.
The College Awards were then presented by Regan, Murphy and Bergh.
Mary Martin, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, received the Excellence in Advising Award for her consistent and enthusiastic support to her advisees, even as she dealt with the loss of her house due to Tropical Storm Irene.
The Excellence in Peer Advising Award went to senior Claudette Reyes. According to director of the advising and career center Sarah Kinerson, “as a peer advisor, she is approachable, professional and knowledgeable. She enthusiastically provides her peers with solid advice about class selections and about navigating the registration process.”
The final award to be given to an unknown recipient was the Freda Hebb Award. The award is in recognition of a JSC staff member who represents the qualities of the late Freda Hebb, who taught at the college from 1934 to 1972 and was always “willing to go the extra mile,” according to Murphy. The award was presented to Nita Lanpher, staff assistant to the Physical Plant.
