Men's Hockey | 5/24/2012 11:09:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - Senior defenseman Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/) of the men's hockey team will not only represent the College of Health Sciences and Technology, but the entire RIT graduating class of 2012, as the university's graduate delegate at commencement on Friday, May 25.

“It is an absolute honor to be selected by my college for this position along with being selected to represent the entire 2012 graduating class at RIT,” said Haltigin, a biomedical sciences major who finished his four years with a sparkling 3.87 grade-point average. “The College of Health Sciences and Technology has given me every opportunity to succeed and has steered me in the right direction since day one. This is also a special honor because it also represents how hard we as student athletes work in the classroom.”

On the ice, Haltigin, a two-year captain, capped off a banner four-year career for the Tigers in 2011-12. He earned All-Atlantic Hockey Association second team honors, while garnering RIT's Green B. Williams Award for Academic Excellence, Art Thomas Teammate award as well as the Tim Cordick award, given to the top RIT defenseman.  Haltigin finished third on the team in scoring with 21 points on five goals and 16 assists.

Haltigin was one of 20 Division I hockey players nominated for the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.  An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

In 2010, Haltigin was named to the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team as RIT made its magical run to the Frozen Four. He tied for sixth nationally in 2010 among all defensemen with 11 goals and set a career-high with 24 points. He added 14 points in both of his freshman junior seasons.

“What a great honor it is for Chris to represent his fellow graduates and to be able to address his peers, family, and friends at graduation will be something he will never forget,” said RIT Men's Hockey Head Coach Wayne Wilson. “He is a tremendous leader and has represented our program on and off the ice for the past four years with pride and class.”

The Oakville, Ontario native finished his career tied for the all-time lead at RIT with 147 games played and recorded 73 points on 24 goals and 49 assists. The 23 goals are the second most by a defenseman in RIT's Division I era.

“Playing hockey at RIT has been a life changing experience that I wouldn't trade for the world and this honor along with the support I received from my college is a testament to the support Coach Wilson and his staff gives us both academically and athletically,” said Haltigin.

Off the ice, Haltigin and his RIT teammates repeatedly went to public schools in Rochester and read to elementary school children. He and his teammates have also participated in community service projects around the Greater Rochester area as well, including cleanup projects.

Haltigin was a four-time Atlantic Hockey Association All-Academic Team selection and one of six AHA Academic All-Stars in 2010-11. He was a two-year recipient of RIT's Green B. Williams Award for Academic Excellence.

“As hockey players at RIT, we are often in more of a spotlight than other people on campus and sometimes our academic success goes unnoticed,” said Haltigin. This honor shows that we do put a lot of hard work, effort, and pride into our academic careers along with the time we put into becoming a better players and people.”

Haltigin is currently applying to go to medical school aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon.