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It's Monday, May 18, 2015, and for the Boston College Class of 2015, it's a day they'll never forget. A new class of Eagles graduates today and enters the Boston College alumni community. I'm sure you all have memories of what this day was like for you. I forget if our own Grant Salzano calls it the "saddest happy day of your life" or the "happiest sad day of your life." Either one applies—it's a day with many feelings.
To our readers in the BC Class of 2015, congratulations on your accomplishment, and best wishes in the future. You're entering a wonderful alumni community. Much like college, you get out of it what you put in. If you stay active and stay engaged, your relationship with Boston College can continue to be one of the most rewarding and fun parts of your life even long after you've walked across the stage. Stay connected (hopefully in part by interacting with us here at BCI!) and stay true to the maroon and gold. From a sports perspective, it's different when you're not a student anymore, but not necessarily in a bad way.
I'd like to take this time to salute a few standout seniors who I'm thinking about on this graduation day—men and women who donned the maroon and gold with pride and excellence. This isn't an exhaustive list and isn't intended to highlight the 'best" seniors, just an example of some that we're proud to recognize.
There's possibly no athlete at BC who's been more decorated and lauded over the past few years than Liv Westphal, who seemed to be in a stretch for a while when she shattered school, personal and ACC running records every week. During the cross-country season, she was named ACC Athlete of the Year and made the All-American team.
In addition to being a standout athlete, the Limoges, France native is a four time member of the ACC All-Academic Honor Roll.
It's well known that Michael Sit has been an academic standout at BC. At the Pike's Peak Awards Banquet we learned that Sit had at least one semester where he managed a perfect 4.0 GPA, while also playing in all 38 games for the BC hockey team.
On the ice, Sit's career highlight was probably when the Minnesota native scored two goals in quick succession against the Golden Gophers last year, helping BC earn a tie on the road. He was also a contributor to the 2012 national title team, and was one of BC's top faceoff men and penalty killers for four years.
Sit received an ACC post-graduate scholarship to continue his studies next year.
Emily Pfalzer, women's ice hockey
The women's Eagle of the Year was a standout athletically and academically at BC. From the blue line and as the team captain, she set the tone for a team that was both extremely talented and very easy to root for due to their likeability and work ethic. Pfalzer was a two-time recipient of the Athletic Director's Award for Academic Achievement.
As a senior, Pfalzer really emerged as a superstar player, named the Hockey East defensive player of the year and making the Patty Kazmaier Award top 10. Pfalzer is likely to be a key player in the inaugural season of the NWHL.
Andy Gallik entrenched himself as part of the BC O-Line U tradition, as a standout player at the school who will now go on to pursue an NFL career. A team captain and a two-time all-ACC honoree, Gallik was part of the offensive line unit that was key to BC's winning season and bowl berth last year.
Gallik, a four year starter, was drafted in the 6th round by the Tennessee Titans, where he hopes to continue the long line of BC Eagles whose talent, professionalism and work ethic have allowed them to thrive in the NFL.
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Congrats to these and the rest of BC's graduating seniors, who have thousands of stories to tell. Best wishes to all of you!