St. John Vianney School in Orchard Park announced today that  the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) has named KATHLEEN A. LINHARDT, Esq., as a 2002 NCEA Catholic Elementary School Distinguished Graduate.  Ms. Linhardt graduated in 1984 and currently serves as an attorney with the firm of Paladino, Cavan & Quinivan.

     Ms. Linhardt was raised in West Seneca and graduated from Mt. Mercy Academy.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude with  B.A. in English and a minor in German from St. Bonaventure University.  After graduating from St. Bonaventure, she went on to the State University of New York at Buffalo of Law where she received her Juris Doctor in 1995.

     Besides her work as an attorney, Kathleen is an active and valuable member of several organizations.  She serves on the South Buffalo Charter School Board of Directors, the Mount Mercy Alumnae Association Board of Directors, the Desmond Moot Court Board, the Volunteer Lawyers' Project Attorney of the Morning Program and the St. Bonaventure University Honors Council.  She is also a member of the New York State and Erie County Bar Association. 

     Kathleen is the daughter of Michael and Dorothy Linhardt of West Seneca.  She currently resides in South Buffalo.

     Sponsored by the NCEA's Department of Elementary Schools in cooperation with St. John Vianney, the award was presented to Kathleen for her outstanding personal and professional achievements.  Throughout her career she has been an example of how Catholic schools educate people to take leadership roles in their community and beyond.

     "It is with great pleasure that we recognize distinguished graduates from our Catholic elementary schools" said Robert R. Bimonte FSC, Executive Director of NCEA'S Department of Elementary Schools, the awards sponsor.  "The education they received in the elementary years has provided a firm basis for growth and achievement in their adult lives".

     Kathleen joins a stellar group of hundreds of Catholic school alumni from across the country to have been honored over the years.  They include an FBI Director, a governor, a missionary, a circuit court judge, a TV producer, an Air Force combat training division chief, a senator, a mayor, a corporate president, a state representative and St. John Vianney graduates West Seneca Town Supervisor Paul Clark and Buffalo Bills Executive Marc Honan both previous honorees.

    Mrs. Teresa Siuta, Principal of St. John Vianney noted: "we are pleased to join with the NCEA in honoring Kathleen.  Her remarkable professional and personal accomplishments in her brief career make Kathleen an outstanding role model for our current students.  We are very proud to call her a St. John Vianney graduate".