Naila Baloch to Give Commencement Address at Lyndon State College

Naila Baloch, associate chaplain at Middlebury College’s Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, will address Lyndon State College’s Class of 2016 at its commencement ceremony, Sunday, May 15 at 11:00 a.m.

As the associate chaplain at Middlebury’s Scott Center, Baloch facilitates Islamic and interfaith programming and retreats, and also advises the Islamic Society of Middlebury College. She holds a master’s in Theological Studies specializing in Islamic Ministry from Harvard Divinity School, as well as a graduate certificate from the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism in Pope Valley, California, where her focus was on counseling from a spiritual perspective. She started her training at Harvard Divinity School as their first female, Muslim ministry student to prepare for positions of religious service.

Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) awarded Baloch its annual Carol A. Moore Scholarship in 2015. The scholarship, named after Lyndon State College’s former president, Carol A. Moore, recognizes women working in Vermont higher education who aspire to advance their careers.

Baloch studied at Oxford University and Williams College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in astrophysics and comparative religion, and conducted research on quantum information theory. Currently, Baloch is completing her master’s degree in mental health counseling at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.