MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College Department of Athletics announced Dr. Peter Cordella and Steven McDevitt as the February 2021 "Hawks Soar Higher" Award winners on Monday.

Debuting in the Fall of 2017, the special award was created to allow the Department of Athletics to recognize individuals that are instrumental to the College's efforts to offer a first-class, transformational student-athlete experience. The awards are issued each month during the academic year to two individuals employed by the institution outside of athletics.

Recipients are colleagues, faculty, staff or administrators who advocate for Saint Anselm student-athletes and go above and beyond in their contributions each day on the Hilltop.

Coming to the Hilltop in 1992, Dr. Cordella is a Professor and the Department Chair for the Criminal Justice program here at Saint Anselm. Cordella has been instrumental in launching the College's first-ever master's degree program. Several current Hawks student-athletes will graduate in May 2021 and enter the 4+1 criminal justice graduate program this summer.

"Talking with student-athletes about their experiences on the field as well as their experiences in the classroom gives me a fuller and more nuanced understanding of who they are as a person," says Cordella, who serves as a mentor to over 50 student-athletes majoring in Criminal Justice.

McDevitt, the College's Chief Information Officer, has been employed at Saint Anselm since August 2018 and is responsible for many areas of the institution's information technology systems. McDevitt's leadership has improved the way that coaches and support staff use technology, all to the benefit of the over 450 student-athletes on the Hilltop.

"As a parent of student-athletes, I know the impact and importance and have seen the results of the athletic component of their college experience in their lives," said McDevitt. "I am proud to support the work of our coaches, athletic leaders, staff and our student-athletes as they are critical components of the life of this college."