Castleton

Spartans

Penny Aceto (Peters) ’95 was recognized in the classroom, on the cross-country trails, and in the community for her countless feats of excellence. Upon graduating magna cum laude in 1995, the rest of the country was made aware of just how important she had been to the Castleton community when she was named the NCAA woman of the year for Vermont. The woman of the year award was a culmination of four years of hard work and determination that yielded cross-country team MVP and all-Mayflower Conference awards in three of her four seasons running. Aceto earned a spot in the NAIA national championship in 1991 and 1992, and was named an NAIA scholar-athlete in ’94 and ’95. The Thetford, Vermont, native also earned ECAC scholar-athlete awards in ’94 and ’95 and was the recipient of the Sharon Brown Memorial Award in her senior year. Since graduating, Penny married fellow Castleton cross-country alum, Russell Aceto, in 1996 and has spent 11 years as an elementary and special educator. After spending four years teaching on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Granado, Arizona, she became an early literacy teacher and earned her reading certification in 2002. In 2004, Aceto earned a Master of Arts degree in education with a concentration in reading from St.Michael’s College. She now owns a home and acreage in Fairfax, Vermont, where she is a reading recovery teacher and enjoys maple sugaring on her land.