“She is more than an athletic coach”

Sachem Girls Basketball Coach Norma Waggett receives MBA Dean’s Award at Salem State University

By Mark E. Vogler

Saugus High School girls’ sports legend Norma Waggett continues to make her mark as someone whom the student athletes she coaches can look up to as a role model. Waggett, a standout basketball player at Saugus High School and during her college days, recently received the MBA Dean’s Award from the Bertolon School of Business at Salem State University.

The school’s Dean, Raminder Luther, called her “a double Viking,” the ultimate student athlete while at Salem State. “She has a history of athletic and academic achievement here at SSU,” Luther said.

“As an undergraduate student in Exercise Science (class of 2018), she was captain for the SSU varsity basketball team and scored 1,000 points. She also set a school record for most points in a game (44) in 2017,” she said.

Waggett is pursuing an MBA while also studying for the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL). She plans to become a Physical Education teacher at Saugus High School to further help the next generation of students, according to Luther. She currently works at Mass General Cancer Center as a Financial Coordinator. She assists with creating budgets for new cancer research for the first steps of clinical trials before the FDA can approve for mass production.

The Dean’s Award plaque that Waggett received notes that she “exemplifies qualities and characteristics the school most seeks in students including academic achievement, leadership qualities and demonstrated service to others.”

“When not in school or in the office, Norma volunteers her time as the Varsity basketball coach and assistant track coach at her alma mater Saugus High School [where she was a 3-sport captain],” Luther said in her remarks at the awards presentation.

“She is more than an athletic coach, because she serves as a mentor to all the young girls in both programs [basketball & track], teaching them how to become strong female leaders, bringing them on college tours and helping them reach out to college coaches for recruitment. She is dedicated to empowering female athletes by growing their passion for the sport along with helping them on their academic journey,” Luther said. “In this role, Norma is also very active in garnering community support for women varsity sports. She organizes events to encourage and inspire elementary aged girls to excel in sports and feel supported as athletes. She does all of this while maintaining a 3.84 GPA in her MBA program.”

Waggett, along with fellow Saugus alumna Taylor Bogdanski, co-coached the Sachems to a successful completion of their basketball season this winter. The Sachems captured another Northeastern Conference title, won a postseason game and finished 14-8.

Since her student athlete days at Saugus High, Waggett has excelled on and off the basketball court. She was a 1,000-point scorer at Saugus High School and in college, where she played at Saint Joseph’s in Maine and at Salem State University.

“Norma would like to thank her family for their continued support of her academic and athletic paths (always attending games to support, even now when she is coaching),” Luther said.

“She would also like to recognize Athletics Director Chris Harvey for his support during her transfer process into SSU. Congratulations, Norma.”