POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Four Marist student-athletes earned Baccalaureate awards at the College's ceremony on Friday afternoon at McCann Arena.
 
The honorees were Skylar Harrison (volleyball), Luke Hatch (football), Emma Butzler (women's swimming & diving), and Patrick Kutch (men's cross country/track & field).
 
Here is a closer look at each honoree, with write-ups courtesy of the official Baccalaureate program:
 

SKYLAR HARRISON

Skylar Harrison won the Award for Academic Excellence in Business Administration. This award acknowledges the senior business administration major who possesses the highest cumulative grade point average. Skylar Harrison is on the volleyball team and made the MAAC All-Academic Team, MAAC Student Athlete of the Week, and the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. She is also a member of SAAC, Beta Gamma Sigma international honor society, and is the co-president of the Investment Club. Skylar competed with the Marist Ethics Team and in the CFA Research Challenge. She interned as a summer financial analyst at Citigroup in New York City and will return there to work full time as a financial analyst after graduation.
 

LUKE HATCH

Luke Hatch won The CH Energy Group, Inc. Award for Excellence in Environmental Science & Policy. This award is given to the student who has completed a minimum of 24 credits of study in environmental science at Marist and achieved recognized excellence in academic performance. Luke Hatch will graduate magna cum laude with a B.S. in environmental science. He conducted research relating to stream restoration after an internship with Trout Unlimited in his home state of Utah. He will be presenting this research at the 2022 AGU Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting. For his capstone project, Luke has been working to offer management strategies to the City of Poughkeepsie's waste management program of the Fall Kill Creek. After graduation, he will complete an internship at Land Expression, a landscape architecture firm in Washington State, and will attend graduate school in the field of environmental engineering the following year.
 

EMMA BUTLZER

Emma Butzler won The Boehringer Ingelheim Award for Excellence in Scientific Research. This award is given to a student selected by the School of Science faculty in recognition of overall academic performance with a primary focus on achievement in research. Emma Butzler is graduating cum laude with a degree in environmental science and policy. Her research experiences include: serving as a research assistant for Penn State's Water4Ag project, conducting research as a Polgar fellow, and completing a capping project aimed at analyzing current waste management policies in Poughkeepsie. Emma was invited to present her findings at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall and spring conferences and submitted two manuscripts to scientific journals. Emma was also a teaching assistant, tutor, and volunteer, as well as a member of the varsity swimming and diving team.
 

PATRICK KUTCH

Patrick Kutch won The Hermitage Community Service Award. This award is presented to the graduating student who has compiled an impressive record of volunteer activity on and/or off campus, demonstrating the College's traditional values of concern for the disadvantaged and service to the community. Patrick Kutch served in many roles for Campus Ministry from 2018 through 2022, including as student board member, member of the Giving Tree, organizer of the clothing drive in 2021, and in the role of Santa Claus for the Campus Ministry Christmas meeting in 2019. Through the weekly community service program, he volunteered with local schools and helped coach CYO cross country at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Patrick competed all four years as a member of the Marist Cross Country & Track Team and was named captain in 2022. He also served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee from 2019 through 2022.

Earlier on Friday, Kutch was one of 11 Marist student-athletes honored at the College's Honors Program Medal Ceremony.
 
Additionally, Athletics event staff worker Max Labrenz won the Award for Academic Excellence in Economics, which acknowledges the senior economics major who has demonstrated exceptional understanding of contemporary economic issues and has shown outstanding promise through internships, economic research, or special projects.
 
The winner of The Glenn Marinelli Award for Excellence in Athletic Training was Tess Robinson Edwards. This award is given to a student who has completed a minimum of 24 credits of study in athletic training at Marist and has achieved recognized excellence in academic performance. The award is named after the late Glenn Marinelli, who served as Coordinator of Sports Medicine at Marist for 32 years. Glenn passed away after a long and courageous battle against cancer in 2014.