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Kat Chapman |
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Heang Sok |
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Maria Summers |
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Michael Acutt |
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Zach Basham |
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Jamie Shifrin |
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Ashley Smith |
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Leslee Lynch and Chris Moline |
All 244 graduates have unique stories to share about how their R-MC experiences and liberal arts education helped prepare them for the real world after graduation. Many students participated in regional, national and international internships, conducted research with their professors through the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program or studied abroad.
The senior speaker for the class of 2010 was
Kathleen “Kat” Chapman of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She graduated with a bachelor’s Degree in
psychology and a minor in
biology. Chapman’s non-profit work at R-MC has inspired her to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work. She plans to enroll at Boston College in the fall and eventually find work in non-profit management.
A Dean’s List student, Chapman was a member of Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society, Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society and Order of Omega Greek Leadership Society. She received the 2008 R-MC Volunteer of the Year Award and served as Vice-President and President of the R-MC chapter of Habitat for Humanity and of the Omicron Zeta chapter of Delta Zeta. She was actively engaged in the life of the College and worked as an Orientation Leader, a Yellow Jacket Tour Guide and an Admissions Counselor Assistant. During R-MC’s January Term, Chapman studied abroad in South Africa and the Galápagos Islands.
Heang Sok was an international student from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He graduated with a 4.0 grade point average and a bachelor’s degree in
computer science and
accounting. Sok was a member of R-MC’S Habitat for Humanity chapter and, in 2009, traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi to help rebuild homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina. He also participated in the R-MC Career Center’s Access CEO Program, which was launched in fall 2008. Access CEO is a mentoring program for juniors and senior that provides them the opportunity to learn from seasoned top local executives and from one another. In addition, Sok worked as a Web assistant in R-MC’s Marketing & Communications department, where he was responsible for editing and updating information on the College’s Web site. After finishing his graduation requirements in December 2009, Sok began working near Boston, Massachusetts as a software engineer for Lattix. Sok’s story is significant because he was initially denied an F-1 student visa at the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia in July 2006. R-MC President Robert Lindgren contacted United States Congressman Eric Cantor’s office, who in turn, inquired about Sok’s status with the Embassy in Phnom Penh. Shortly thereafter Sok was granted his F-1 visa and – the rest is history!
Maria Summers graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a minor in biology. While at R-MC, Maria spearheaded fundraising for Operation Smile. It’s an organization that is close to her heart since she was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, which was repaired when she was a child. While at R-MC, Summers raised close to $1500, which was enough to pay for surgery for six children. In 2008, she traveled with Operation Smile to Agadir, Morocco and served as their Patient Imaging Technician. After graduation, she hopes to be accepted into the Physician’s Assistant Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Summers is from Powhatan, Virginia and is the daughter of David and Lauren Summers.
Michael Acutt was an international student from Durban, South Africa. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and business. One of the highlights of Acutt’s college experience was getting the opportunity to travel to Chile as a member of the R-MC Men’s Basketball team. The team played both college and professional games. Acutt says his lasting impression was the beauty of the Andes Mountains, which surround Santiago, Chile. After graduation, he plans to enroll in graduate school and work towards earning a master’s in business administration. He is the son of Paul Acutt and Yvonne Paul.
Zachary “Zach” Basham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in ethics. During his senior year at R-MC, Basham coordinated a fundraising effort that raised close to $20,000 for the Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break Trip. After graduation, he plans to find employment in fundraising or medical equipment sales. He is from Nellysford, Virginia and is the son of Ed and Karen Basham.
Jamie Shifrin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology. After graduation, she will begin working in sales for New York Life in Richmond, Virginia. She also plans to attend graduate school in the near future. Shifrin is from Baltimore, Maryland and is the daughter of Jim and Patsy Shifrin.
Ashley Smith, from Hampstead, Maryland, graduated with honors, with a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry. In order to graduate with honors, she completed a year-long independent research project titled
Biomagnification and Trophic Transfer of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Food Web of the James River Near Richmond, Virginia. Smith analyzed sediment and invertebrates that she sampled from the James River in an effort to detect polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a pollutant derived from plastic materials that is found in our waterways. Smith was in the Honors Program, Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and served as a Campus Ambassador. She has spent J-term in Hawaii studying humpback whale behavior and also in Australia and New Zealand, studying the chemistry of wine-making.
Smith will attend the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts, one of only 28 veterinary schools in the country. “I chose Tufts because it has a very similar atmosphere to R-MC,” she says. Smith eventually wants to work in the area of small animal medicine (dogs and cats) or work with marine mammals.
Chris Moline graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies. After graduation, he will work as a research assistant in R-MC’s biology department. He will continue research that he began in R-MC’s Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship program (SURF) about flies, their eggs and leukemia. Moline recently presented this research to a national conference. His post-graduation plans also include getting married on June 4, 2010, just one week after Commencement. He will wed fellow R-MC student
Leslee Anne Lynch, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and minor in ethics. Moline is from Warrenton, Virginia and Lynch is from Ladysmith, Virginia.