Area students earn honors, graduate

NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS » Merrimack College recognizes local students who have achieved dean’s list for spring 2017: Collin McLaughlin of Higganum, Megan Lacombe of Middletown, Jourdan Milardo of Haddam, Kaitlyn Magnano of Middletown, Stephanie Edwards of East Hampton, Erick Tung of East Haddam, Amy Wengefeld of Old Saybrook, Julia Messier of Cromwell, Caitlin DeBaise of Durham, Shannon Murphy of Cromwell, Bradley Cates of Westbrook and Tiffany Mangiameli of Middlefield.

Washington and Lee University

LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA » Christopher William Myers of Ivoryton, a member of the Class of 2017 at Washington and Lee University, has earned president’s list status for the recently ended academic year. A student must be in the top 30 percent of Washington and Lee-attained credits and grades for the preceding year to qualify.

LIM College

NEW YORK » Renee M. DeRoy of Cromwell was named to the dean’s list at LIM College for the spring 2017 semester. To be placed, students must earn a grade point average between 3.50 and 3.79.

Eastern Connecticut State University

WILLIMANTIC » Fourteen students from Eastern Connecticut State University spent a month this summer in Florence, Italy, in a global field course called creative writing abroad. The region of Tuscany’s culture and landscapes inspired students’ literary senses as they wrote, critiqued and edited original works of fiction.

Among the students were: Jessica Dontigney ‘18 of Durham, who majors in English, and Caryn Sibiskie ‘18 of Rockfall, who majors in English.

Led by English Professor Christopher Torockio, the students gathered for writing workshops at SACIStudio Arts College International (in Florence) and immersed themselves in Italian culture as they visited the cities of Fiesole, Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca and Pisa.

American International College

SPRINGFIELD » Caitlin Sobolewski of Westbrook received the Dean Joseph P. Cebula Award at American International College’s Academic Awards ceremony this spring. It is presented to a student who demonstrates excellence in the field of education. Sobolewski is a moderate disabilities major at AIC.

Wilkes University

WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA » Wilkes University welcomes Emma Fantoli of Portland into the Class of 2021. Fantoli, one of over 600 students who make up the newest undergraduate class, is a nursing major.

Sacred Heart Academy

HAMDEN » Sacred Heart Academy recently announced the honor roll for the fourth marking period of the 2016-17 academic year.

The following students from Middlefield earned high honors this quarter: Natalie Davis and Julia Davis. Sophie Park of Essex and Casey Szeligowski of Killingworth also earned high honors. Honors are awarded at the end of each quarter to students attaining an average of 3.5 or better. Those students who achieve a grade point average of 3.8 or greater are awarded high honors.

Rochester Institute of Technology

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK » The following local residents made the dean’s list for the 2017 spring semester at Rochester Institute of Technology:

Emilie Mackinnon of Portland, who is studying biomedical engineering; Zachariah Carmichael of Killingworth, who is studying computer engineering.; Kimberly Hedger of Middletown, who is studying computer engineering technology; Mason Muszynski of East Haddam, who is studying computer science; Emily Imbruglio of Portland, who is studying environmental sustainability, health and safety; Kim Labby of Portland, who is studying film and animation; Christopher Groves of Killingworth who is studying industrial design; Jeremy Hall of Middletown who is studying management information systems.

Degree-seeking undergraduate students are eligible for dean’s list if their term GPA is greater than or equal to 3.400; they do not have any grades of incomplete, D or F; and have completed at least 12 credit hours.

Connecticut Funeral Directors

CROMWELL » Julia Liseo of Cromwell has been selected by the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association to receive 2017 college scholarship funds. Liseo, a new graduate of Cromwell High School, will pursue a career in occupational therapy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden in the Fall.

CFDA also presented $500 to each of eight Connecticut student honorees at a ceremony near its offices in Wethersfield: Durham resident Joshua Dalo, Middletown resident Kelly Deegan, Portland residents Jessica Olmeda, Kelsey Springer and Paige Wache.

To be eligible for the CFDA Family Support Services Scholarship program, candidates must: be a high school senior and Connecticut resident who is pursuing a career in a “helping” professions that provides emotional, medical or physical support for families; and must maintain at least a B grade point average in all 10th, 11th and 12th grades. All 2017 candidates also provided a written response to the question: “Why did you decide to pursue a profession that supports families?”

Norwich University

NORTHFIELD, VERMONT » The following local students received a degree from Norwich University at the May 13 commencement ceremony:

Erik Benjamin Toman of Killingworth received a bachelor of science in computer security-info assurance, cum laude, with a concentration in forensics.

Kasey Collette Jacobs of Killingworth received a bachelor of science in sports medicine/health science, magna cum laude, with a minor in biology.

Michael Peter Tewksbury of Middletown received a bachelor of science in computer science, cum laude.

Loyola University

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND » Loyola University Maryland has announced the members of its spring 2017 dean’s list. To qualify, a student must achieve a minimum quality-point average of at least 3.500 for the term, provided that they complete courses totaling a minimum of 15 credits.

Locals are: Audrey Barber, class of 2017 from Middletown, Alyssa Case, class of 2018 from Middletown, and Anna Dam, class of 2020 from Deep River.

Woodrow Wilson Middle School

MIDDLETOWN » A team of four young readers from Woodrow Wilson Middle School recently represented the United States in the Kids’ Lit Quiz World Final, an international reading competition open to ages 10 to 13 in which teams of students showcase their literary knowledge through a variety of competitive formats. The competition is meant to celebrate young scholars in ways an athlete might be traditionally recognized. Competitors are celebrated for their literary prowess and exceptional performance in reading.

The team’s journey began when they beat 89 other teams to win the U.S. national finals in February. Alexandra Ren, Bennie Baldwin, Constantinos Soteriou and Nora Salo-Markowski, coached by Maggie Murphy, moved forward to represent the United States in the World Finals in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 3.