FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONTGOMERY, NEW YORK, RESIDENT JOHN W. EASTERBROOK DELIVERS VALEDICTORY SPEECH AT MANHATTAN COLLEGE’S 162ND UNDERGRADUATE COMMENCEMENT

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Montgomery, New York, resident John W. Easterbrook recently delivered the valedictory address at Manhattan College’s 162nd Undergraduate Commencement.  The ceremony took place Sunday, May 16 in the College’s Draddy Gymnasium.  Manhattan College awarded more than 600 students with a bachelor’s degree in some 40 major fields of study from the school of arts, business, education, engineering and science.

Mr. Easterbrook earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of Arts.  Apart from being chosen this year’s valedictorian, Mr. Easterbrook is a member of the Epsilon Sigma Pi honor society, which is the highest scholastic honor for undergraduates of all programs at Manhattan College.  To be elected, students must attain a cumulative index of 3.4 based on all courses taken at the College.  He also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the national honor society for liberal arts colleges, and a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the national honor society for students of English language and literature.

In his valedictory address, Mr. Easterbrook said, “We can use our education here at Manhattan as a light from which we can lead ourselves and our neighbors to a world not plagued by boundaries and borders, but to a world healed of fractures, a world united in understanding, a world united in dialogue. With the voice we’ve gained here at Manhattan, we can break down the walls that have built up around us and create a worldwide community where we treasure the perspectives of others.”

During the ceremony, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree was presented to Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS’ The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer and managing editor of Washington Week.

Manhattan College was founded in 1853  by the Brothers of the Christian Schools.  Manhattan College, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003, is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science.

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