Joanna E. Dove of Smith's Parish was one of 517 seniors to receive a Bachelor's degree during the 139th commencement ceremony at Bates College on May 30.

The class was the largest ever graduated at Bates, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding this year.

About 2,500 people attended the event.

In remarks during the ceremony, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams observed that this graduating class will also be known as the class of 9/11, which occurred just weeks after students started college.

"As much as we would like to hold you all and cradle you in our collective arms and guarantee your safe passage into that American ideal job and family and prosperity and happiness, that no longer, sadly, comes with the diploma you will receive today," said Williams. "But I'm not altogether sure it ever did."

Mr. Williams, whose parents met at Bates, was one of five honorary degree recipients offering advice to the graduates.

The other were composer T. J. Anderson, biologist Lynn Margulis, entrepreneur and engineer Paul Soros and his wife, philanthropist Daisy M. Soros.

Ms Dove graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree and honours in Psychology. Her senior thesis was titled "Co-morbid Addictive Tendencies in Relation to Eating Pathology in College Population".

A Dean's List student, she studied in Italy during the winter semester of her junior year and participated in the 2005 Mount David Summit, the college's annual celebration of student academic achievement. Ms Dove volunteered with Bates Buddies, a student group that assists in the local public schools. She wrote for the Bates student newspaper and performed in the Bates theatre production "Goodbye Howard".

A 2001 graduate of Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts, she is the daughter of Nicholas and Susan Dove, 42 Knapton Estates Road.

Bates College is widely regarded as one of the finest US liberal arts colleges.