Title: Students, Alumni Win Tillman Military Scholarships for 2012-2013
David Dixon (G’15), a Marine Corps captain whose base came under attack during Operation Iraqi Freedom, is one of three Georgetown graduate students receiving scholarships from the Pat Tillman Foundation for the next academic year.
David Dixon (G’15), a Marine Corps captain whose base came under attack during Operation Iraqi Freedom, is one of three Georgetown graduate students receiving scholarships from the Pat Tillman Foundation for the next academic year.
Georgetown graduates Dan Feehan (F’05) and Peter Koziol (G’06) of Chicago, and Kathleen Merkl (F’05) of Fairfax, Va., received scholarships to pursue degrees at other institutions.
Dixon is a doctoral candidate in political science at Georgetown.
“I am really thankful to be chosen as a Tillman [Military Scholar],” says Dixon, a member of the Choctaw Nation who hails from Shreveport, La. “…it is a true honor to stand alongside these other military scholars, and to continue in the legacy of service left by Pat Tillman.”
Dixon says he is looking forward to taking back what he learns at Georgetown back to the Marine Corps.
“Although service members swear on their lives to defend the Constitution, many don’t know the fundamentals of our representative republic,” Dixon explains.
Green Berets
Alex Brown (MBA’13), another scholarship winner, entered flight school after 9/11 and flew the Apache Attack Helicopter for four years, followed by a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan.
In 2005, he was involved in a shoot-down that inspired him to become a member of the Green Berets. The McLean, Va., native led two Green Berets teams during operations in Iraq and Africa.
“I was hoping to become part of [the Green Berets] because I saw how much they really give back, and I wanted to be a part of that service-oriented culture,” Brown, a U.S. Army major, says. “It reminds me of the same values that you find in the military itself.”
Brown plans to move to Colorado after earning his MBA, with a goal of eventually creating a business that caters or provides benefits to veterans.
Service and Leadership
“I am really thankful to be chosen as a Tillman [Military Scholar],” says David Dixon (G’15), pictured with his wife, Jackie Dixon (G’14). “…it is a true honor to stand alongside these other military scholars, and to continue in the legacy of service left by Pat Tillman.”
Brandon Stone (L’15), of Juneau, Alaska, an incoming Georgetown law student, also won a Tillman scholarship. According to the foundation website, Stone wants to work in national security law and foreign policy after graduation.
The Pat Tillman Foundation was established after the death of its namesake, a former professional football player who put his NFL career on hold to serve as a U.S. Army Ranger. He died while serving in Afghanistan in 2004.
According to the foundation, Tillman Military Scholars are selected based on their record of service and efforts to continue the values of service and leadership in their respectively chosen careers.
The winners were selected from a pool of 1,280 applicants and spanned all branches of the United States Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.