Vicki McColl was awarded a diploma from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy (CCMT) on December 18. She completed 44 credit hours (650 classroom hours) of courses including anatomy and physiology, kinesiology, pathology, business practices and hands-on courses. Having become nationally certified by taking the National Certification Exam (NCE), Ms McColl will be seeking the credential of a Massage Therapist License, which the Department of Health requires to legally practice massage therapy in Connecticut.

Elizabeth Cole, a Newtown resident and student at Nonnewaug High School, will join a select group of students representing their schools, communities and states at the Student Ambassador program’s People to People Leadership Summit in Los Angeles, CA from July 18 to July 27. To gain acceptance to the program, students must meet rigorous academic and leadership requirements. During the Summit, Elizabeth will participate in intensive leadership, team building, community service action plan and career-aspirations related activities. The program was coordinated to fulfill the vision President Dwight D. Eisenhower had for fostering world citizenship when he founded People to People in 1956.

Kali Alise Santarpia, a junior in the Honors College at Towson University in Towson, Md., earned Dean’s List honors for the fall 2004 semester with a 4.0 GPA. Ms Santarpia, daughter of Anita R. Holtz and stepdaughter of David C. Dickerson of Sandy Hook, is a recipient of the Towson University Provost scholarship recognizing the undergraduate with outstanding academic and civil potential. She is also the beneficiary of a Volunteer of the Year Award from Ashlar as well as three Newtown Scholarship Association Awards.

Majoring in gerontology, Ms Santarpia is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was named to the 2004-05 National Dean’s List, honoring the top one-half percent of undergraduates from the nation’s 3,000 colleges and universities.

This past fall, she was inducted into the prestigious Sigma Phi Omega Honor Society, recognizing the top gerontology undergraduates and professionals in their field.

Additionally, the 2002 Newtown High School graduate, who was captain of both the varsity cheerleaders and Varsity Girls’ Tennis team, is a member of Towson’s chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha.