Braintree College Graduates – University of Vermont, Dean College, WPI

These students are likely just a handful of the many accomplished scholars from Braintree in high school or college. If you know of any other students worthy of praise, email joseph.markman@patch.com or comment below!

University of Vermont

Some 2,557 students were awarded a variety of bachelor's degrees during the University of Vermont's 211th Commencement ceremonies on May 19. There were some 575 advanced degrees and certificates awarded by the UVM Graduate College and approximately 106 women and men took the oath of Hippocrates following the awarding of their M.D. degrees at ceremonies of the UVM College of Medicine. A list of local students and the degree earned by each follows:

Mollie A. Caliri of Braintree, MA, received a BSEV in Environmental Engineering.

Julie Ho of Braintree, MA, received a BA in Global Studies.

Danielle C. O'Dwyer of Braintree, MA, received a BS in Dietetics Nutrition & Food Sciences.

Gillian I. Victor of Braintree, MA, received a BSED in Secondary Education Science.

Dean College

Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts is honored to announce Margaret Riordan of Braintree, MA has completed a degree program and has graduated cum laude earning a Associate in Arts in Liberal Studies.

Founded in 1865, Dean College, located in Franklin, Mass., is a private, co-educational school offering 15 Associate Degrees and five Bachelor's Degrees. The Dean Difference provides students with quality teaching, personalized academic support, leadership opportunities and professional development promoting a lifetime of learning and achievement.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

A total of 1,165 degrees (781 bachelor's degrees, 358 master's, and 26 PhDs) were awarded during the university's commencement ceremony on May 11, 2013, which took place outdoors on the WPI quadrangle. Additionally, 328 degrees were awarded earlier this academic year.

Nicholas Chambers of Braintree, Mass., was awarded a bachelor of science degree in management engineering.

Thousands of students, their families and friends, trustees, and other special guests were on hand to experience the inspirational messages delivered by keynote speaker, Eric S. Lander, president and founding director of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Honorary degrees were conferred upon Lander; Carol T. Christ, president of Smith College; and Robert H. Beckett '57, retired chairman and CEO of Robec, Inc., and currently president and CEO of Tribo Surface Engineering.

In his commencement address, Lander told the graduates they face a number of challenges, including economic stress, a looming crisis in healthcare costs for an aging population, climate change concerns, and political upheaval.

"And yet, nonetheless, I am optimistic," Lander said. "I am optimistic because of you – because of your generation's ability to both dream and act – to combine theory and practice."

St. Lawrence University

Daniel A. Kent of Braintree, was among the 548 students awarded a degree at St. Lawrence University's Commencement ceremony, held May 19 on campus in Canton, New York. Kent was awarded a degree in sociology and is a graduate of Thayer Academy.

St. Lawrence's Commencement speakers were recipients John J. O'Shea, Class of 1974, an immunologist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF; and retired SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. All three received honorary degrees at the ceremony. The University's North Country Citation was awarded to the Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence County.

–Info from readMedia Newswire