Jennifer Boyden, a former softball student-athlete at Emerson College, is the Great Northeast Athletic Conference 2007 Women of the Year.

The award honors female student-athletes who have completed their eligibility and demonstrated academic and athletics excellence, as well as community service and leadership.

A writing, literature and publishing major who graduated valedictorian of Emerson’s Class of 2007, Boyden received one of the 58 NCAA postgraduate scholarships. This prestigious award is given to 29 male and 29 female student-athletes in all three NCAA divisions who participated in spring sports this past academic year.  She is the first Emerson College student-athlete to ever receive the award.

Boyden was the starting catcher on the softball team all four years. She culminated her softball career by being named to the All-Tournament Team in the NCAA Division III Providence Regional.  Over her career, her batting average was .340 and she had a fielding percentage of .979.

Heavily involved in extracurricular activities, Boyden was the vice-president of the class of 2007, the first Athletics Commissioner to the Emerson Student Government Association, and a member of the Department of Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  She is a representative of the Residence Hall Association, and has been a member of the Emerson Alliance of Gays, Lesbians, and Everyone since her first year on campus.  Additionally, Boyden has worked for the athletic department and as a desk receptionist in the dormitories.

A member of the Emerson Gold Key Honor Society, Boyden won the 2006 John Zacharis Scholarship for “a great impact on the Emerson College Community”.  She has won the 2006 and 2007 awards as Emerson’s top student-athlete, is a two-time ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District as presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and is listed in the 2006-07 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.