Once again, the scholarship selection committee faced a formidable task to choose the winner of the P. Buckley Moss Society — Anne and Matt Harbison Scholarship.

Tom Burkam of Delaware, Ohio, is the 2003 recipient of the $1,000 renewable Harbison Award. His language-related learning disability was first noted during kindergarten. He worked closely with tutors throughout his elementary, middle, and high school years. His guidance counselor noted that taking full advantage of the support and encouragement of the tutors, his parents, and his teachers helped him to utilize his full potential as a student without becoming discouraged by his disability.

While Tom is still a very slow reader, he has developed many adaptive skills to help him work around his disability. He has been using a laptop computer since middle school because his handwriting is poor and it takes him an extremely long time to write out words, especially when taking notes in class. He referred to a saying that hangs in the office of one of his football coaches — “That which does not kill us only makes us stronger.”

This determination is evident in other aspects of his life. Last summer he was determined to make himself into the best defensive football player that he could. He said, “I lifted weights, set up a conditioning program, and ran sprints until I dropped. By the end of football season, I was leading tackler on the team and was voted the Most Improved Player.” He also had to work hard to achieve his 3.5 GPA in order to qualify for National Honor Society. It was tough telling his friends that he needed to study instead of spending time with them.

Any discussion of Tom’s accomplishments in extracurricular, community, and church interests must include the word balanced. He said, “By participating in a wide variety of activities, I may be sacrificing the opportunity to achieve my maximum potential in any one area, but I believe I am a better overall person for my participation in all of these activities.”

He believes he has an advantage over most of his peers when it comes to sports, perhaps because he felt he could be the same as everyone else on the playing field. By high school, his focus was on football and tennis. He was proud to have served as captain of the football team and led the team in both tackles and fumble recoveries. The tennis team captured its fourth consecutive conference championship, and Tom won first team all-conference at first doubles, despite a bout with mononucleosis this spring. He was also honored by being chosen the Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award Male Athlete from his high school.

Music has also always been an important part of Tom’s life. At Rutherford B. Hayes High School, he was selected, through competitive tryouts, to perform in both the top school choir and the show choir. He participated in the chorus of two school musical productions plus performed a lead role in his church’s production of “Godspell.”

In Tom’s family, community service is a way of life. He currently serves as the Student Representative to the Delaware City Board of Parks and Recreation. They plan to build a new indoor recreational center in Delaware soon and are busy both planning the facility and seeking ways to finance the center. For the past two years he has been a Big Brother to a young boy who was growing up in an all-female household and  needed some male influence in his life. At his church, he works in the nursery during Sunday services where he gets a kick out of playing with the three and four year olds. He has also been a camp counselor for the sixth graders, a student athletic trainer, and a flag football referee.

Tom plans to attend Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, in the fall, where he also expects to participate on the football team. His older brother Ben is already a student there. Tom gets some of his inspiration from his father, who also had learning difficulties but went on to graduate from Wittenberg and then become a lawyer. His mother, an eighth grade music teacher, was his inspiration for his love of music.

Both an uncle and a cousin are physical therapists, and Tom would like to help people learn to deal with their physical limitations. He has enjoyed his volunteer time in their physical therapy offices. Another career possibility is to become a teacher and coach. Over the years he has had many wonderful teachers who made it possible for him to have the success he has had in school.

Tom was nominated for this scholarship by Christine Darrah, president of the Appleseeds of Moss Chapter of Bellefontaine, Ohio.