Undergraduate
Mathematics graduate receives The 2009 Saint Michael's Award
Jonathan Kaptcianos recognized for being a student leader
Contact Information:
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
Jonathan William Kaptcianos, son of John and Joyce Kaptcianos of Peabody, Mass., earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics, with a religious studies minor, magna cum laude, from Saint Michael's College at commencement ceremonies May 14, 2009.
Mr. Kaptcianos received the Saint Michael's Award, presented to the member of the graduating class who has shown four years of "unselfish commitment to others and to the development of community at Saint Michael's College." He was cited for being a published scholar, student leader, musician and athlete.
"Jon Kaptcianos' experience at Saint Michael's College epitomizes many wonderful elements of our holistic education that is characterized by academic excellence, student leadership, engaged involvement in the community and service to others," said Michael Samara, Saint Michael's vice president for student affairs, in present the award.
Mr. Kaptcianos' research article, "A Graph Theoretical Approach to DNA Fragment Assembly," appeared in The American Journal of Undergraduate Research in 2008. He made the Dean's List every semester of his college career, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1009, into Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society in 2007, and into Delta Epsilon Sigma, the National Catholic Honor Society in 2008. He was VP of his class in his junior year, served as a Resident Assistant, as a two-year member of the Orientation Board, and was Student Association Secretary of Finance in 2009. He was MOVE volunteer service coordinator of the Winooski Youth Connection, and was a private math tutor for two home-schooled youngsters in the Burlington area.
An accomplished musician, Mr. Kaptcianos played regularly in the college coffee house, and performed acoustic guitar in the selected Martin Luther King Talent Show of 2009. He also played varsity soccer as goalie for the Saint Michael's team.
Commencement Speaker
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was the featured speaker at the Saint Michael's College 102nd commencement. Closely identifying his personal experiences serving Chicago's poor with the prevailing ethos of service at Saint Michael's, Duncan exhorted graduates to be active agents of accessible education, which he called "the civil rights issue of our time." Describing the Obama administration's ambitious agenda, Duncan said, "You wouldn't scale back your ambitions. You wouldn't cut your dreams in half - and you shouldn't. And neither will the president." Noting that nearly three-fourths of Saint Michael's students engage in some service activity before graduation, the Secretary said, "Your founders established a legacy of working with people in need and today, Saint Michael's is a national model for responsibility and citizenship, producing not just smart people, but good people, too."
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Photo caption: Saint Michael's Vice President for Student Affairs Michael Samara presents top award to Jonathan Kaptcianos of Peabody
Photo credit: Andy Duback
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
Jonathan William Kaptcianos, son of John and Joyce Kaptcianos of Peabody, Mass., earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics, with a religious studies minor, magna cum laude, from Saint Michael's College at commencement ceremonies May 14, 2009. Mr. Kaptcianos received the Saint Michael's Award, presented to the member of the graduating class who has shown four years of "unselfish commitment to others and to the development of community at Saint Michael's College." He was cited for being a published scholar, student leader, musician and athlete.
"Jon Kaptcianos' experience at Saint Michael's College epitomizes many wonderful elements of our holistic education that is characterized by academic excellence, student leadership, engaged involvement in the community and service to others," said Michael Samara, Saint Michael's vice president for student affairs, in present the award.
Mr. Kaptcianos' research article, "A Graph Theoretical Approach to DNA Fragment Assembly," appeared in The American Journal of Undergraduate Research in 2008. He made the Dean's List every semester of his college career, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1009, into Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society in 2007, and into Delta Epsilon Sigma, the National Catholic Honor Society in 2008. He was VP of his class in his junior year, served as a Resident Assistant, as a two-year member of the Orientation Board, and was Student Association Secretary of Finance in 2009. He was MOVE volunteer service coordinator of the Winooski Youth Connection, and was a private math tutor for two home-schooled youngsters in the Burlington area.
An accomplished musician, Mr. Kaptcianos played regularly in the college coffee house, and performed acoustic guitar in the selected Martin Luther King Talent Show of 2009. He also played varsity soccer as goalie for the Saint Michael's team.
Commencement Speaker
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was the featured speaker at the Saint Michael's College 102nd commencement. Closely identifying his personal experiences serving Chicago's poor with the prevailing ethos of service at Saint Michael's, Duncan exhorted graduates to be active agents of accessible education, which he called "the civil rights issue of our time." Describing the Obama administration's ambitious agenda, Duncan said, "You wouldn't scale back your ambitions. You wouldn't cut your dreams in half - and you shouldn't. And neither will the president." Noting that nearly three-fourths of Saint Michael's students engage in some service activity before graduation, the Secretary said, "Your founders established a legacy of working with people in need and today, Saint Michael's is a national model for responsibility and citizenship, producing not just smart people, but good people, too."
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Photo caption: Saint Michael's Vice President for Student Affairs Michael Samara presents top award to Jonathan Kaptcianos of Peabody
Photo credit: Andy Duback
