UMass Amherst Commencement 2006

News

David Lawrence will be the Student Speaker at UMass Amherst Undergraduate Commencement

Senior David Gregory Bentley Lawrence, of Mapleville, R.I., who is graduating with departmental honors in physics, has been selected to be the student speaker at the 136th Commencement of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Lawrence says he is pleased to represent his class as the student speaker this year. "In a graduating class of this size and with so many very different people, one person cannot speak for everyone," Lawrence says. "I am honored to be given the chance merely to see this group off, just as I have been honored to share this great university with them over the past four years."

At UMass, Lawrence has been a staff columnist for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the student newspaper, writing a weekly column since the spring of 2005. He also has worked with the Dinsmore Research Group laboratory, under Anthony D. Dinsmore, an assistant professor of physics, on the self-assembly of micro-containers.

During the summer of 2005, Lawrence spent eight weeks at the Universität Stuttgart in Germany studying 20th century architecture and the German language. In the summer of 2004, Lawrence was a judicial intern in the office of Rhode Island District Judge William Clifton and observed the operations of district, family and superior courts in that state.

Lawrence studied classical piano from 1990–2002 and trumpet from 1998–2002 and has played piano and sang in the Tent City band, a rock cover band from 2002 to the present; and as a trumpet player in the ska band LGLF from 2000–02. At Burrillville High School, in Rhode Island, he was president of the National Honor Society.

After graduation Lawrence says he will attend law school at New York University.

Lawrence was chosen to be the student speaker by a committee of faculty and students.

21st Century Leaders Award Winners Announced

The University of Massachusetts Amherst announces the following winners of the the 21st Century Leaders Award:

Steven J. Alden, Accounting
Kate G. Baldacci, Psychology
Kristen M. Bouley, History
Elisabeth Aileen Budd, History, Psychology
Heather A. Harrington, Mathematics
Jonathan Peter Korhonen, Communication
Sarah Catherine Krill, English
Jonathan D. Moreno, Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stephanie R. Murphy, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nissa Lindholm Perrott, Theater
Jochebed A. Pink, Biology
Theresa M. Ray, Psychology
Yomarie Silva, Accounting
Julie T. Weismantel, Psychology, Dance
Stephen L. Wood, Psychology

They will be recognized for high academic performance, and for the prestige and honor they bring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, both as undergraduates and as alumni joining the larger community.

The winners will be presented during the 2006 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony. Recipients will receive a plaque and a monetary award from the UMass Amherst Alumni Association.

Volunteers Needed for Undergraduate Commencement

Volunteer marshals, aides, and ushers are needed for the 2006 Undergraduate Commencement on Sunday, May 28. We promise you an enjoyable experience, an opportunity to display your pride in UMass, and a free lunch. Returning veterans and new volunteers are encouraged to participate.

We depend on volunteers to help manage approximately 4,000 graduates and approximately 22,000 guests. We want the ceremony to be one with pageantry and pride for the graduates. Our veteran volunteers tell us participating in commencement is an enormously satisfying and joyous opportunity. In order to be successful, we will need about 60 marshals, 50 aides, and 40 ushers.

Marshals assist by organizing graduates according to their appropriate school or college for the student processional, escorting graduates on to the field, and serving as field monitors. Aides greet guests as they enter the perimeter, distribute programs, and help guests locate seating and other services. Ushers assist guests in the stands of the stadium with seating, directions, and program information.

There will be an orientation and rehearsal for volunteers scheduled for May 2006. On the day of commencement, Sunday, May 28, volunteers should be at the stadium no later than 8:00 a.m. Following the commencement ceremony, at 12:00 noon, volunteers will be provided a complimentary thank you luncheon.