Former Auburn swimmer TJ Leon has been chosen as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, the university announced on Thursday.
He is one of two Auburn alumni to have advanced to the next round in the quest for one of 32 American scholarships offered to the University of Oxford on an annual basis.
They will interview in Birmingham, Alabama in late November, and marks the 5th consecutive year that Auburn students have been named finalists.
Leon, an Alabama native, is currently classified as a senior majoring in biomedical sciences. In addition to numerous athletic awards (including being named the 2014 SEC Men’s Swiming and Diving Male Scholar Athlete of the Year award), he was a recipient of Auburn’s Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship.
Auburn has had four Rhodes Scholars in its history, including one swimmer. Former All-American swimmer Jordan Anderson was named a Rhodes Scholar in 2008.
One of the finest young men I have had the pleasure to know. Good luck TJ!!!!!