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Purple Knights News

May 6, 2009

Canning, Fereshetian, Ward To Represent Saint Michael's At NCAA Conferences This Month

COLCHESTER, Vt. - A trio of Saint Michael's College student-athletes - senior swimmer Alex Canning (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), junior women's cross country/Nordic skiing student-athlete Lauren Fereshetian (Turner, Maine/Leavitt Area), and sophomore men's soccer player Rondel Ward (Saint George, Barbados/Harrison College) - have been picked to represent the College later this month at a pair of NCAA conferences in at Walt Disney World Coronado Spring Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., it was recently announced.

Fereshetian and Ward will take part in the at the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference, while Canning will attend the inaugural NCAA Student-Athlete Development Coaches Forum.

The NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference "provides NCAA student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills," according to its website. The conference "also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities". In its 13th year, the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference will be held May 24-27.

All NCAA member institutions are encouraged to nominate four student-athletes. The selection committee received nearly 2,000 nominations from almost 500 NCAA institutions, and a total of 700 student-athletes were selected to participate in next month's conference. In order to be eligible, applicants must be in good academic standing and must have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year. The theme of the 2009 conference is "A Journey of Self-Discovery: Unfold Your Future". The four-day event consists of daily team sessions, exercises, speakers and activities designed to help student-athletes grow and develop as leaders.

The objective of the NCAA Student-Athlete Development Coaches Forum, meanwhile, is to provide a three-phase coaching development opportunity to students interested in becoming coaches in the sport of bowling, soccer, swimming and diving, or wrestling after graduating from college. Forum content includes educating participants in the areas of program management, eligibility, budgeting, student-athlete well being, diversity, championship play, and committee structure, among other components.

In all, 40 student-athletes representing institutions from all three NCAA divisions have been selected to take part in the inaugural NCAA Student-Athlete Development Coaches Forum. The three-day event will take place May 27-29.

"I am humbled to be selected as a representative of Saint Michael's athletics, and am very excited to have this opportunity to represent the College," said Fereshetian. "I hope to use this experience to further benefit the Saint Michael's community that I love."

"I think it's a great honor to be selected to attend the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference," said Ward. "I know that I can learn a lot from the conference, and I'm looking forward to hearing what the speakers have to say."

"I am excited to learn what it takes to coach swimming and diving at the NCAA level," said Canning. "I am looking forward to strengthening my coaching skills, so I can give back through a sport that I love so much."

"Lauren and Rondel are wonderful choices to represent Saint Michael's College at the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference, and Alex is an excellent person to be the first Saint Michael's representative at the 2009 NCAA Student-Athlete Development Coaches Forum," said Director of Athletics Geri Knortz. "Not only will they benefit from this valuable program that focuses on student development and leadership, but so too will their teammates, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and the Saint Michael's community."

Fereshetian, an elementary education and sociology/anthropology double major with a 3.768 cumulative Grade Point Average, has been one of the Purple Knights top runners and cross country skiers the last three years. A Dean's List student every semester, she has earned NCAA Skiing All-Academic honors, Northeast-10 Conference Women's Cross Country All-Academic First Team honors, and was an NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar as both a freshman and sophomore. She captained the Nordic skiing team this past season, and was the Purple Knights' top finisher in all 11 races this past season. She is also very active with SAAC, and has taken part in multiple volunteering opportunities, such as tutoring a Sudanese refugee.

Ward, a computer studies major with a 3.887 cumulative Grade Point Average, has been a member of the Saint Michael's men's soccer team the last two seasons. He has played in 12 contests the last two seasons for the Purple Knights, helping the squad to a 17-13-7 record in that span. A member of the College's Diversity Coalition and Martin Luther King, Jr. Society, Ward has also volunteered as a teacher for underprivileged children in his home country, and has earned awards from the Barbados Government for exemplary work in the computer studies field.

Canning, who will graduate next week with a degree in fine arts and a concentration in education, was a four-year member of the Purple Knights' men's swimming and diving team, competing in the breaststroke and freestyle events. A co-captain of the squad this past winter, Canning has also served as an assistant track and field coach at the Albert D. Lawton Middle School in Essex, Vt., the last four years. He has also served the College as a tour guide the past three years, and was recently selected the "Tour Guide of the Year" by the Admissions staff. Canning also has participated in the College's annual Senior Citizen Prom, sponsored by the Mobilization Of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE).

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