The University of Vermont School of Business Administration celebrated and said good-bye to over 150 undergraduate and graduate students on Sunday, May 18, 2014 before a packed Flynn Theater in Burlington.
“The education you received at the School of Business Administration will help you accomplish great things,” said Dean Sanjay Sharma. “You are now poised at the threshold of new challenges, and new dreams. As you go forward, I would encourage you to not only be ambitious and creative, but also compassionate. Successful business leaders think about others before they think about themselves.”
John Hall (’85), President & Chief Operating Officer at Rachael Ray / Watch Entertainment, Inc., was the keynote speaker during the Commencement Ceremony. He encouraged graduates to understand the value of the relationships they have developed at the School of Business, and nuture them throughout their careers.
Dean Sharma took time in the ceremony to point out three university-wide awards that were given to business school students. Dennis Mahoney was awarded The Kidder Medal. This award identifies the senior male ranking first on leadership, scholarship, and character. Alesandro Carissimo and Suzanne Friedman were the 2014 recipients of The Class of '67 Award. This award recognizes senior students who have satisfied two of the three criteria: active membership in three recognized student activities; University recognition in a varsity athletic sport; and/or election to an office in a recognized student activity. The recipient must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, be respected by his/her peers, and be of high moral character.
Senior Anja Gruber, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and was the recipient of the 2014 Senior Award for Excellence in Marketing and Outstanding Senior Award for Academic Excellence and Overall Achievement, also congratulated and addressed her classmates about reaching this special day, ready now, to succeed in the real world.
About the Class of 2014 *
Summa Cum Laude
Anja Felicitas Gruber, B.S. Business Administration
Patrick Timothy Halfmann, B.S. Business Administration
Magna Cum Laude
Haley Cantone, B.S. Business Administration
Nicholas Steven Cianci, B.S. Business Administration
Meghan Bell Lori, B.S. Business Administration
Laura Marie Macuga, B.S. Business Administration
Margaret Schirmann, B.S. Business Administration
Benjamin M. Spaulding, B.S. Business Administration
Meghan Marie Weinheimer, B.S. Business Administration
Cum Laude
Gregory Norris Bove, B.S. Business Administration
Bela James Dobkowski, B.S. Business Administration
Danielle Genevieve Francis, B.S. Business Administration
Emily Lynn Gutman, B.S. Business Administration
Kevin Michael Kohlmorgen, B.S. Business Administration
Zachary M. Pion, B.S. Business Administration
Kate G. Ryley, B.S. Business Administration
Gregory J. Wachtel, B.S. Business Administration
Kevin W. Whitehead, B.S. Business Administration
* From the Office of the Registrar