SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus Student Marsha Friedel poses with SUNY Morrisville President David Rogers after receiving the State University of New York Association of Council Members and College Trustees Award for Excellence in Student Initiative Scholarship. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH – Despite a rare degenerative disease that has forced her to change the course of her life, Marsha Friedel is still all heart, and representatives of SUNY Morrisville said she is putting it to good use.

Friedel is a New Berlin resident and human services student at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus going to college at age 52, and officials said she is blazing a trail of giving along the way.

Friedel’s spirit and commitment are among the reasons she earned the State University of New York Association of Council Members and College Trustees Award for Excellence in Student Initiative Scholarship.

The scholarship recognizes outstanding academic achievements and extraordinary service to the campus and community. Recipients receive $1,000 and an additional $250 to the charity of their choice. Friedel designated her award to the Norwich Campus Human Services Institute, which develops ongoing partnerships and collaboration between the college and surrounding communities.

“Marsha shares her ideas in the classroom and actively engage other members of the class,” said Julanne Burton, assistant professor and human services program coordinator at the Norwich Campus. “She has demonstrated an extraordinary work ethic and shows great promise as a future human services professional.”

Friedel graduated from Sherburne-Earlville High School, where her propensity for helping others shined as FFA president. She put college on hold to get married, raise six children and help run a family dairy farm.