Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Honoring Student Excellence
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2021
1. Honoring Student Excellence Marker
Garrett Johnson (2006 Rhodes Scholar) and Joseph O’Shea (2008 Rhodes Scholar) have distinguished themselves according to the Rhodes criteria of “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.”
O’Shea, a philosophy and interdisciplinary social science major and FSU student body president, was a Truman Scholar, junior year member of Phi Beta Kappa and a USA Today Top 10 All Academic First Team member. He has been a leader in state and community activities and started a free health clinic in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
Johnson, an English and political science major, worked in the office of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on government policies towards Haiti. An NCAA All-American in track and field, Garrett ranked among the world’s top 25 shop put throwers in 2005, established the ACC Indoor Shot Put Record and won the NCAA Indoor Shot Put Track and Field National Championships in 2006. Under his leadership, student-athletes volunteered over 4500 community service hours for disaster relief in Haiti.
FSU’s first Rhodes Scholar was Caroline
this page online
Erected by Florida State University.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Education • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 1976.
Location. 30° 26.616′ N, 84° 17.815′ W. Marker is in Tallahassee, Florida, in Leon County. Marker can be reached from Learning Way, 0.2 miles east of Varsity Drive. Marker is located along the Florida State University Legacy Walk, on the north side of the HCB Classroom Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 989 Learning Way, Tallahassee FL 32304, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Dr. J. Stanley Marshall (a few steps from this marker); The Integration Statue (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mina Jo Powell Alumni Green (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Florida State University Campus (approx. 0.4 miles away); John Thrasher (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Westcott Fountain and Plaza (approx. 0.4 miles away); Thomas Kent "T.K." Wetherell
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2021
2. Honoring Student Excellence Marker
Looking south from Legacy Walk; HCB Classroom Building in background.
Regarding Honoring Student Excellence. Florida State has a total of five Rhodes Scholars: Frederick William Buchholtz, 1905 (?); Caroline Alexander, 1976; Garrett Johnson, 2006; Joe O’Shea, 2008; and Myron Rolle, 2009. In addition, FSU had Rhodes Scholar finalists in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Also see . . .
1. Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarships. The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year 32 young students from the United States are selected as Rhodes Scholars, through a decentralized process representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. The first Rhodes Scholars arrived at Oxford in 1903 and the first U.S. Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904. (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. FSU student-athlete Garrett Johnson wins Rhodes Scholarship. (FSU News, 11/21/2005) Johnson, 21, a Tampa native and a graduate student studying public administration at FSU, was selected for the Rhodes Scholarship over the weekend in Birmingham, Ala. He becomes one of only 32 college students from throughout the United States who were chosen for Rhodes Scholarships this year. (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. GPE co-director Joe O'Shea named Rhodes Scholar. (Global Peace Exchange, 11/28/2007) On Nov. 17, the dynamic campus and community leader with a seat on FSU’s Board of Trustees became one of the 32 U.S. college students selected as Rhodes Scholars this year. An FSU Honors Program student with majors in philosophy and interdisciplinary social sciences and a 4.0 grade point average, O’Shea rose to the top of an extraordinary field of finalists during a grueling application and interview process that demands months — some say years — of preparation and practice. (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
4. FSU’s first female Rhodes Scholar returns for Classics Week. (FSU News, 3/6/2020) In 1977, 24 women arrived at the world-renowned University of Oxford as the first female Rhodes Scholars. One of those pioneering women was from Florida State University, and she returned to Tallahassee this week for a series of events hosted by her former department. Caroline Alexander, a British-American author, classicist and filmmaker, returned to her alma mater for Classics Week at FSU, an opportunity to celebrate and embrace the study of classical antiquity. (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
5. Rolle named Rhodes Scholar; Florida State's third in four years. Florida State University student-athlete Myron Rolle, 22, is seemingly the living embodiment of the criteria established more than 100 years ago for the Rhodes Scholarship — one of the oldest and most prestigious awards for international study. The Rhodes Trust agreed, and has named Rolle one of 32 U.S. Rhodes Scholars for 2009 — the first time in nearly 25 years it has awarded the scholarship to a prominent college football player. (He became the most prominent student-athlete to win the award since Bill Bradley at Princeton in 1965.) (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 105 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
