Newton resident Natalie C. Elvidge, earns top scholar-athlete award & graduates from Saint Michael's College

Deloitte Touche HR Exec James Wall tells graduates the Liberal Arts were never more important.

Related Media

Saint Michael's College Athletic Director Geri Knortz gives Keleher Award to Natalie Eldvidge of Newton

COLCHESTER, VT (05/24/2011)(readMedia)-- Natalie C. Elvidge, daughter of Elizabeth Elvidge of Newton and Edward Elvidge of Newton, earned a bachelor's degree in English, magna cum laude, from Saint Michael's College May 16, 2011, in ceremonies held on the campus of the liberal arts residential Catholic college located in the Burlington area of Vermont. Ms. Elvidge was also awarded the Roger F. Keleher Award for the top woman scholar-athlete of the year.

James Wall, a 1974 graduate of Saint Michael's, and now global managing director of human resources for Deloitte Touche Tomatsu, a multinational corporation with 2,000 partners and over 100,000 employees, was the featured speaker at the Saint Michael's College 104th commencement. "The value of a liberal-arts education at Saint Michael's College has never been more relevant than it is today – never," he declared. "My Saint Michael's experience taught me how to learn. Nothing is more important in today's world." Wall served on the college's board of trustees for 12 years, four of those as chairman.

Some 435 undergraduates received bachelor's degrees at the ceremony as well as 95 graduate students who earned master's degrees.

Natalie Elvidge wins Keleher Award

In presenting the Keleher Award to Natalie Elvidge, Saint Michael's Athletic Director Geri Knortz said, this student is the epitome of the scholar-athlete. She has been a four-year standout in field hockey, serving as captain this year. She is an English and sociology student earning a 3.789 Grade Point Average, getting named to Phi Beta Kappa, the top academic honor society, and named to Delta Epsilon Sigma, the national Catholic honor society, and on and on,.

Ms. Elvidge is a four-time Northeast 10 All-Academic honoree and a four-time National All-Academic Field Hockey team member.

Natalie Elvidge has also done extensive community service taking two extended service trips, one to Big Thicket in Texas to take care of a national park, and one to Immokalee, Florida, to work with migrant farm workers and their families. She also worked in the after-school support program for youngsters in Burlington's Old North End inner-city school, Wheeler Elementary. And she worked with greyhound rescue through the Cause for Paws program and with Best Buddies, a program that matches college students with partners who have physical or mental disabilities.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 371 Colleges, and is included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael's is one of only 280 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.