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Nov. 6, 2014

Swim team captain, Honors College member advances in Rhodes Scholarship competition

David Zoltowski, an Honors College member and captain of Michigan State University men’s swim team, is a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Zoltowski has been selected to interview for the scholarship in Indianapolis on Nov. 22.

The Rhodes Trust, the oldest of the major international competitive award foundations, provides 32 of the most outstanding undergraduates in the United States an opportunity to study at the University of Oxford in England.

MSU has produced 16 Rhodes Scholars.

Zoltowski plans to pursue a doctorate in engineering science at Oxford.

“I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to interview for the Rhodes Scholarship,” Zoltowski said. “The prospect of me attending Oxford next year has suddenly become much more real, and I am looking forward to doing all that I can over the next few weeks to ensure that I make the most of this opportunity.”

A graduate of West Lafayette High School in Indiana, Zoltowski is a senior majoring in electrical engineering in the MSU College of Engineering.

He’s also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and was named Academic All-Big Ten. One of last year’s Goldwater Scholars, Zoltowski has also earned the MSU Honors College National Scholarship, Walter R. Yates Memorial Scholarship and Arthur J. Harris Memorial Scholarship.

Zoltowski is a research assistant, member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu and an Honors Times Two mentor.

“David is an exceptional student athlete,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the MSU Honors College. “We are proud of him for advancing as a finalist in the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship competition and wish him all the best during his interview.”