Alpha ON THE MOVE
Rhodes Scholar...Andrew J. Zawacki He will leave the United States for England and Oxford University in September. His program of study at Oxford starts in October 1994. Prior to his leaving for Oxford, he earned his bachelor's degree in English—with a minor in history—from the College of William and Mary in May 1994.
lose sight of the mission." How does he characterize the experience as the only white member of the predominately African American Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at College of William and Mary?
The Rhodes Scholarship is only the latest of his many honors. He received a William and Mary Scholarship two years ago to support his research on "The Influence of Malcolm X on America: 1965 to the Present." He spent eight weeks in London witli die support of a Wdliam and Mary James Monroe Scholarship writing a book of poetry and prose pieces entitled "when the lights go out on the underground."
Meet Brother Andrew J. Zawacki of Warren, Pennsylvania, a Rhodes Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa and an ALPHA O N T H E MOVE. He was not familiar with eitlier the Rhodes Scholarship program or the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity when he enrolled at the College of William and Mary. As a member of the track team, Zawacki became friends with Stephen James and Terrell Mcllwain, both Alphas. "I admired them and admired what they did," Brother Zawacki recalls. "I am not sure I knew what I was getting into," he remembers, but he became increasingly interested in the Fraternity as the year progressed and was especially impressed with Alpha's record of community service. There were six Alpha men in the chapter when Zawacki was accepted into the Brotherhood. There are ten now. "We have had our hands in everything pretty much," Brother Zawacki says about the chapter's involvement in community service. "Whatever time we can devote outside the classroom, we devote it to community service. We are all busy, but we try not to
He is not certain about career plans otlier than he will pursue a Ph.D. in English after the program at Oxford. After that, it could be a college teaching position, or a staff position witli a literary journal or publishing house. Whatever the pursuit, Brother Andrew J. Zawacki will be an ALPHA O N T H E MOVE.
Brother Zawacki is busy— he is O N T H E MOVE. He won the Goronwy Owens Poetry Prize in 1993. His "The Beatification of Malcolm X" won A Gallery of Writing's 1992 Non-fiction Contest and his "Confession" won him runner-up honors in the Academy of American Poets Prize (1992). "It's been great. There are no disadvantages." And no, he says, race has not been a problem. At Oxford, Brother Zawacki will pursue a Master of Philosophy in English Studies-Literature 1880 to 1980. His senior diesis at the College of Wdliam and Mary focused on contemporary poet Mark Strand, who is author of, among many other pieces, "Keeping Things Whole" and "Dark Harbor."
6 A The Sphinx • Spring 1994
Named to the 1994 USA Today Academic All-American team, Zawacki's academic achievements have earned him membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, Phi Eta Sigma, and Alpha Lambda Delta. Not secondarily, Brother Zawacki is a William and Mary President's Aide, one of 20 student advisors to the President of College of Wdliam and Mary.