Georgetown School of Medicine Student Selected as 2016 Tillman Scholar

Posted in GUMC Stories

June 7, 2016 — Jeremy Marx, a U.S. Army veteran and incoming student at Georgetown University School of Medicine, has been selected as a 2016 Tillman Scholar.

This year’s Tillman Scholars, announced today by the Pat Tillman Foundation, are selected in recognition of their military service, leadership and academic excellence. Founded in 2008, the Tillman program for U.S. service members, veterans and military spouses is designed to “build a diverse community of leaders committed to service to others.”

Ranger Medic

The scholarship Marx received is named for Patrick Tillman, who served the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2004, when he was killed in action. Before his service, Tillman played NFL football with the Arizona Cardinals, a career he put on hold after the events of 9/11 to serve his country.

Marx, from Dallas, Tex., says he left the Air Force Academy to join the Army, “in a large part due to Pat’s sacrifice for our country in the Ranger Regiment. I left to join the Rangers as well and join the war effort.” 

The incoming medical student served as Ranger medic and deployed six times to both Iraq and Afghanistan, losing nearly a dozen friends, and plagued with chronic injuries. After nine years, he retired in 2014.

“Being chosen as a Tillman scholar brings everything full circle,” Marx says. “I am deeply honored by this and will represent the spirit behind the scholarship with the upmost integrity.”  

The former soldier says being responsible for the lives of the Rangers in his company and platoon was a heavy weight that both challenged and transformed him.  The combat experiences will serve him well as he undergoes the rigorous challenges of becoming a physician, he says.

Empowering Others

Marx and the other 59 members of the newly selected Tillman Scholars class will receive more than $1.8 million in scholarships to pursue their higher education goals. The scholarship covers direct study-related expenses, including tuition and fees, books and living expenses.

“This is also a huge financial blessing to me and my family,” Marx adds. ”Attending medical school, married with two children will not be fiscally easy, and I hope to pay it forward one day by setting up a scholarship specifically geared for other Ranger Medics that want to become physicians,”

Marie Tillman, Patrick Tillman’s wife and president and co-founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation, says “Each Tillman Scholar named has demonstrated a unique perseverance and dedication to empower others around them.”

“In Pat’s spirit of service, we are proud to unite and support them as leaders for our country both at home and abroad,” she says.

Georgetown’s Military Commitment

For its strong support for military veterans and spouses, Georgetown University is a designated Pat Tillman Foundation “partner.”

“Jeremy lived a cura personalis life more intensely than any of us can imagine, in pursuing patriotic passion at great cost to himself personally and emotionally,” said Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, MBA, dean for medical education, and an Air Force veteran. “Like Pat Tillman, he sought service with a drive that surpassed personal fame. We are inspired and honored that he will join Georgetown and pursue healing in an expanded capacity. We are proud to serve with this incredible man.”