Saint Martin's College commencement will be Saturday, May 8

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Lacey, Wash. - Valedictorian Anna Jeannette St. Martin, Maple Valley, will deliver the commencement address to fellow graduates of the Saint Martin’s College Class of 2004 at the college’s Commencement Convocation Saturday, May 8. Commencement ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. at Saint Martin’s Pavilion, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., and will include graduates from the main campus, as well as students graduating from Saint Martin’s Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base extension campuses.

In a first at the college, both the class valedictorian and salutatorian, Jessica Spencer Schadt, Olympia, are graduating with bachelor of science in civil engineering degrees. Despite the highly demanding nature of the curriculum, both women achieved a near-perfect grade point average.

St. Martin earned a 3.972 cumulative grade point average during his college career. She is employed by the Washington State Department of Transportation. St. Martin plans to begin the University of Washington’s master of civil engineering program this fall to study transportation engineering, concentrating on transportation analysis and methods of developing predictive traffic models. She is the daughter of Paula A. St. Martin of Maple Valley and Steven R. St. Martin of SeaTac.

Schadt, whose cumulative grade point average is 3.970, will go to work full-time for her part-employer, Sargent Engineering Inc., following graduation. She and her fiancé also are planning a summer wedding. Her long-term goals include graduate school. Schadt is the daughter of Larry and Gillian Schadt of Olympia.

St. Martin will speak after degrees are conferred on the 344-member Class of 2004. Also addressing graduates and their families will be class speaker Michelle Heitzmann, Belfair, a community services graduate with a minor in women’s studies. (Please see Commencement biographies below.)

The Saint Martin’s College Class of 2004 is composed of students who completed degree requirements in December 2003 and May, as well as those who will do so in August. The class has 82 December graduates, 223 May graduates and 39 August graduates. Of those graduating, 288 will receive undergraduate degrees and 56 will earn graduate degrees.

Saint Martin's College is an independent, coeducational college offering 22 baccalaureate and six graduate degree programs based in the liberal arts. Saint Martin's was founded in 1895 by the Roman Catholic religious Order of St. Benedict. In the Benedictine traditions of hospitality, service and education, the college is committed to providing excellent education to students from diverse economic, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Saint Martin's enrolls approximately 1,000 students on its main campus and about 600 more in programs offered at its extension campuses at Fort Lewis Army Post, McChord Air Force Base and Olympic College.

Saint Martin's College Commencement 2004 Biographies

Anna Jeannette St. Martin
Maple Valley
Valedictorian - Class of 2004

Valedictorian Anna Jeanette St. Martin of Maple Valley has achieved a near-perfect grade point average, 3.972, and is graduating with a bachelor of science in civil engineering degree. She is the daughter of Paula A. St. Martin of Maple Valley and Steven R. St. Martin of SeaTac.

Before transferring to Saint Martin’s College in 2002, St. Martin represented Green River Community College on the All-Washington Academic Team and was a nominee for the All-USA Academic Team. She also was the recipient of a National Science Foundation scholarship and Green River’s President’s Award.

At Saint Martin’s, St. Martin has remained active in academic and extra-curricular pursuits. She is the recipient of a college Trustee’s Scholarship, an Entranco Engineering Scholarship and the Society of Women Engineers’ Lydia Pickup Memorial Scholarship. She served as vice president of the college chapter of the Society of Women Engineers for two years and as its acting president for part of a year. As a member of the College’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, she was involved with the design and construction of the 2003 concrete canoe and one of two presenters of the college’s canoe project at regional competitions. She participates in “The Bucket,” a Christian praise and worship gathering, and in a Bible study and prayer group. She also is a member of the college’s honor society, the Society of Fellows.

St. Martin has served on a number of college committees, including its Science, Techology, Engineering and Math Building Committee. Her service to the college community includes acting as a student panelist for admissions programs and organizing self-defense workshops.

She cultivates her creative spirit by scrapbooking, drawing, painting, and most recently, returned to an old love, ballet. A member of Art Works performing company, she will dance in “The Sleeping Beauty” this summer.

St. Martin is employed by the Washington State Department of Transportation. She plans to begin the University of Washington’s master of civil engineering program this fall to study transportation engineering, with a concentration on transportation analysis and methods of developing predictive traffic models.

Jessica Spencer Schadt
Olympia
Salutatorian - Class of 2004

Salutatorian Jessica Spencer Schadt, who is graduating with a bachelor of science in civil engineering degree, also has earned a near perfect grade point average, 3.970, to become Saint Martin’s 2004 salutatorian.

Schadt, the daughter of Larry and Gillian Schadt of Olympia, transferred to Saint Martin’s after attending South Puget Sound Community College and Centralia College. As Centralia College’s top transfer student, she was awarded the Saint Martin’s Community College Partnership Scholarship.

As a Saint Martin’s student, she has been particularly active in engineering pursuits, serving this year as president of the college’s student chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers/National Society of Professional Engineers and last year as secretary/acting vice president of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. For two years, she has participated on Saint Martin’s teams competing in ASCE’s regional Concrete Canoe and Student Steel Bridge competitions. Schadt also was tapped for membership in the College’s honor society, the Society of Fellows.

Schadt is employed part-time by Olympia’s Sargent Engineering Inc. This summer, she will begin fulltime employment with the firm. She and her fiancé, Eric Soward, also are planning a summer wedding. Her long-term goals include graduate school.

Michele M. Heitzmann
Belfair
Class of 2004 Speaker

Michele Heitzmann, of Belfair, is a community services graduate, and one of the first to Saint Martin’s graduates to complete the college’s new minor in women’s studies.

In 1999, and again in 2000, Heitzmann was the recipient of the Reis-Black Music Scholarship. In 2001, she was the vice president of the Residence Hall Council. Heitzmann has remained active in the Campus Ministry office throughout her college experience, and in the past year, was responsible for planning and coordinating Campus Ministry-sponsored retreats. She is a member of the college’s year-old Democratic Donkey Club and is an advocate for social justice and political action.

Heitzmann says she wants to continue her education and eventually teach others, as she has been inspired.

Heitzmann’s ties to Saint Martin’s go deep. Her husband Eric graduated from Saint Martin’s (2001), as did her mother-in-law and father-in-law Linda and Dennis Heitzmann. Her father, Mark Bergford, is a 1975 graduate of Saint Martin’s High School, and her mother, Kathy Heitzmann, is a 1975 graduate of St. Placid’s.

For more information:
Mary Law
Registrar
360-438-4356;
marylaw@stmartin.edu

Deanna Partlow
Senior editor; media relations coordinator
360-438-4541;
dpartlow@stmartin.edu