HACKENSACK, N.J. – Men's golf graduate student, Simon Uribe Garcia, has been the recipient of the Gloria and Robert Metz Endowed Golf Scholarship during his time on the Hackensack. Robert Metz, a longtime coach and administrator spent 32 years at FDU. His lasting impact will forever be remembered through the scholarship as he passed away in the fall of 2020.
Metz, who was inducted in the Knights Hall of Fame in 2011 with the 1966 men's golf team, is commonly referred to as the "pioneer" of Knights Athletics. In addition to the golf endowment, the FDU athletic department awards the Robert Metz Award, which is given annually, to the male student-athlete with the highest GPA.
Garcia was awarded the Robert Metz Endowed Golf Scholarship in 2017, and has been forever grateful to carry on Metz's name. "I received the endowed scholarship my first year and as an international student, getting this gift proved to be a major turning point in my decision to come to FDU," said Garcia.
Knights Athletics is diverse, with student-athletes from across the world. In 2020, student-athletes hailed from 30 different countries and 22 states in the U.S. When Garcia was deciding on which college to attend, it was FDU that stuck out to him. "The location was great coming from Colombia. There are great opportunities for a career and I liked the team that was being built. We've come close to winning and I feel we have come together since I have arrived. Coach Warren and the Endowed Scholarship were big reasons why I came here."
Garcia, who was born in Valencia, California, moved to Pereira, Columbia when he was four years old, and decided to come back to the U.S. at age 17. He is currently in the MBA program pursuing a master's degree in International Business and Finance. Garcia graduated in 2020 with the highest GPA of every student that was enrolled in the Business program at FDU.
Outside of the classroom, one of the pillars of Knights Athletics is community service and Garcia has been very active in his community at home in Columbia and the Hackensack area. In 2019-2020, Knights' student-athletes performed 3,275 community service hours and were recognized with the NEC Building Communities Award. "In my time at FDU, we taught kids how to play golf. We would go once a week to meet with them and teach them the fundamentals. At home, I work with the caddies and we are trying to get kids in to be caddies. We have almost 200 caddies and are giving young adults opportunities to work and stay off the streets," Garcia explained.
On the course, Garcia has continued to improve every year and likes the team's chances in the NEC Championship. In 2019-2020, he led the Knights for most rounds played and was 3rd in scoring average. Due to the pandemic, the Knights didn't complete a full season in 2020 but are poised to make a run at an NEC Championship at the end of April this year.
The Fairleigh Dickinson athletic department is excited to prepare for the most important 42 hours of the year with its 42 Hours of Giving campaign that helps provide a great experience for its student-athletes, which begins Wednesday, April 21. Last year, the FDU athletic department raised a record amount of $34,599 from a total of 376 donors. Every gift to Knights Athletics has a direct, lasting, and positive impact on student-athletes. If you would like to make a gift in advance of 42 Hours of Giving, please visit https://support.fdu.edu/giving/knightsathletics.
We are #uKnightedfor42 in achieving our goals.
