Nov. 7, 2006
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University senior quarterback David Fajgenbaum (Raleigh, N.C./ Ravenscroft) was informed late last week that he had been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
The next step for Fajgenbaum will be a trip to Atlanta on the weekend of November 18, where he will be joined by approximately 12 to 14 other finalists for his region (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia). The candidates will be invited to a cocktail hour on Friday night, where they will have a chance to meet their interviewers. On Saturday, each candidate will participate in a 20-minute interview and selections will be made that day. If selected for the Rhodes Scholarship Fajgenbaum plans to study public health at Oxford.
Fajgenbaum and his Hoya teammates closed out the 2006 home schedule this past weekend, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter en route to a non-league win over Marist. Georgetown returns to Patriot League action this weekend, traveling to play at Lafayette. The Hoyas (2-7, 0-4) and the Leopards (4-3, 3-1) will kick off at 1 p.m. The game can be heard live through www.georgetownradio.com.
A health science major who carries a 3.83 grade-point average, Fajgenbaum has received numerous honors and awards for his community service work since his arrival on the Hilltop. Most recently, he was named to the American Football Coaches Association's All-Good Works Team as a result of his founding of Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers Support Network (www.studentsofamf.org), whose acronym (AMF) comes directly from his mother's name. Anne Marie Fajgenbaum passed away in December 2004 from a brain tumor and Students of AMF aims to help students at college campuses cope with the psychological, spiritual, social, and academic difficulties associated with having a sick loved one through service, support, and mentoring.
When Fajgenbaum's mother passed away, he wanted to find a way to honor her and at the same time, raise money to support cancer research, which resulted in the "Boot Camp 2 Beat Cancer," held during the summer of 2005. While he hoped to raise a thousand dollars, he ended up raising more than $8,000. This past summer, the second annual "Boot Camp 2 Beat Cancer/AMF (A Morning of Fitness)" event raised more than $20,000.
Students of AMF, which was named as Georgetown University's "Outstanding Direct Service Program," has also received a grant from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to become incorporated as a non-profit organization. The program was recognized by the school since the Director of Outreach for the Students of AMF, Benjamin Chesson, is a student there, and a high school classmate of Fajgenbaum.
Last year, Fajgenbaum was one of 20 Georgetown University students recognized for his community service work as a result of the progress made by the Students of AMF. The recipients of the Lena Landegger Community Service Award were presented with $2,500 for their distinguished contributions to community service. The annual awards were created in the honor of the late Lena Landegger by the Landegger Charitable Foundation, and provide an opportunity for Georgetown to celebrate and honor its deep commitment to and tradition of community service. Fajgenbaum was also chosen as a 2006 Lisa J. Raines Summer Scholar. The summer scholar is presented a $5,000 research grant, which he used last summer to study bereavement by college students.
The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. The first American Scholars were elected in 1904. American Rhodes Scholars are selected through a decentralized process by which regional selection committees choose 32 Scholars each year from among those nominated by selection committees in each of the fifty states. Through 2004, applicants from more than 300 American colleges and universities had been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.
Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals. Accordingly, applications are sought from talented students without restriction as to their field of academic specialization or career plans although the proposed course of study must be available at Oxford, and the applicant's undergraduate program must provide a sufficient basis for further study in the proposed field. Through the years, Rhodes Scholars have pursued studies in all of the varied fields available at the University of Oxford.
Rhodes Scholars are elected for two years of study at the University of Oxford, with the possibility of renewal for a third year. All educational costs, such as matriculation, tuition, laboratory and certain other fees, are paid on the Scholar's behalf by the Rhodes Trustees. Each Scholar receives in addition a maintenance allowance adequate to meet necessary expenses for term-time and vacations. The Rhodes Trustees cover the necessary costs of travel to and from Oxford, and upon application, may approve additional grants for research purposes or study-related travel.
