By Dave Caspole ’94
Carly Thibodeau ’20 swims the butterfly in competition and makes top grades in the classroom.
An economics and environmental science double major with a minor in Spanish, she was recognized last spring at the Athletic Director’s 3.0 Ceremony and Reception as one of a handful of Owls athletes who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average in the fall semester. She also was honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Leadership. “I was really shocked,” Thibodeau says of the award. “It’s a tough applicant pool, and they are some of the best of the best at Westfield State.”
Thibodeau served last year as the president of Lambda Sigma—the sophomore class honor society—and she was a student ambassador and worked at the Banacos Center on campus, as well as Our House, a shelter in Westfield, and the White Oak School.
Thibodeau says she manages to excel in her work in and out of the pool by blocking out her time and prioritizing. “I get up early and try to get some work done before I go to classes,” she says. “In season, I am more productive.”
Thibodeau hopes to study environmental economics at the graduate level and become an environmental consultant. “I want to help companies use energy more efficiently, conserve resources, and dispose of waste more sustainably,” she says.
