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Brandon Alwan '11: "I wouldn't be at R-MC if it were
not for Coach Pedro Arruza." |
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Alwan sang a toast to the college during the "Celebrate R-MC" reception, held during Homecoming Weekend. |
“I wouldn’t be at Randolph-Macon if it were not for Coach Pedro Arruza,” says
Brandon Alwan ’11. “I visited the college with my brother, Gamal (Class of 2010) during
football recruitment and I really liked the campus environment. Coach Arruza did a great job of recruiting me to play
football. That, combined with R-MC’s academic program, helped me make my decision. I also enjoyed talking to the students who approached me during my visit, and R-MC really helped me out with financial aid.”
A Musician at Heart Alwan, who hails from Atco, New Jersey, is a music major with minors in psychology and religious studies. “I started off with a biology major in mind, but music consumed my heart and I switched majors at the end of my freshman year,” says Alwan, whose love of music started at an early age. He began playing the viola in the sixth grade and continues to study the instrument at R-MC.
The music aficionado also plays piano and sings. “I began singing during my senior year in high school and I didn’t realize that I was gifted with a singing voice,” he says. “Ever since I can remember, music has been an escape for me. I really can’t put into words what it does to me. I strive to become a better musician to entertain others and to keep my mind at ease.” Alwan’s honeyed voice can be heard at R-MC football games when he leads the crowd in the National Anthem.
To read more Student Experience stories, click here. Campus Connections Alwan’s first year at R-MC was a challenging time. “I struggled academically and personally during my first year at R-MC,” he says. “I had never been away from home for more than a week and I was really homesick, so I decided to play football and join Brothers 4 Change and the Ujima Gospel Choir.” Alwan found that being involved in campus activities helped him adjust to college life. “I also have wonderful friends around me to comfort me, and my brother is always there for support. Coach Arruza’s door is always open, but in the end, I always pray to God to get me through tough situations and with his grace, I made it through my freshman year and prospered.”
Getting Involved Alwan is very involved in campus organizations and initiatives. He is the president of the Ujima Gospel Choir, a multicultural organization that draws people together for worship and praise as it promotes Gospel music throughout the Randolph-Macon and Ashland communities.
The Choir’s Operation Smile Concerts of 2008 and 2009 were especially important to Alwan. “Operation Smile benefits children in South Africa who cannot afford cleft-palate surgery,” he says. “Ujima partnered with Maria Summers ’11, who has traveled several times to South Africa, to help fund this life-changing surgery for several children.” In 2008 and 2009, Alwan received R-MC’s distinguished Emerging Leaders Award for his participation in the Ujima choir.
Alwan is also the chair of One in Four, an all-male sexual-assault prevention group, and a member of R-MC’s Black Cultural Society (BCS), an organization that strives to raise awareness about social issues. “BCS is a group that has been slowly developing over the years,” says Alwan. “We want to educate the campus and community about important issues.”
Community Service Sharing his time and talent is important to Alwan. As a member of R-MC’s Brothers 4 Change organization, he participates in the group’s yearly Community Day by spending quality time with area children. “This is a day of giving back to the hard-working parents who work at the college and those who live in the Ashland community. We eat with the kids, play games with them and give older kids a tour of the campus,” says Alwan. He is also an active member of R-MC’s Macon Peer Response organization and serves as a steward, chaplain and chorister for Mu Phi Epsilon, a music honors fraternity.
Six Countries in Two Weeks In January 2010, Alwan will expand his horizons when he travels to Austria, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy as part of the college’s January term (J-term) travel study program. Professor Hal Breitenberg, Ph.D. (religious studies), and Professor Chris Ryder (music) will travel with their students in conjunction with their respective J-term classes, “The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation” and “Music of the Reformation.” The courses will examine how music was an expression of and a means of spreading the Reformation and Counter Reformation, and students will study the role of music and the various forms it took in different religious traditions of the period. “This is the first time I’ll travel through R-MC,” says Alwan, “and I’m really looking forward to learning about the role that music played during this important part of history.”
Music Therapy In his future academic pursuits, Alwan wants to tap into both sides of his brain by combining
music and science. “I’d like to study music therapy in graduate school,” he says. “And sooner or later, I want to learn how to play the guitar!”
For information on R-MC’s music department, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/music.aspx For information on R-MC’s psychology department, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/psychology.aspx For information on R-MC’s religious studies department, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/academics/religious-studies.aspx For information on R-MC’s J-term program, visit http://www.rmc.edu/Academics/study-abroad/jterm/J-term%202010.aspx
For information on R-MC’s athletics program, visit
http://www.rmcathletics.com For more information about the breadth of programs and opportunities available at Randolph-Macon or to schedule a campus visit, contact our Admissions Office at (800) 888-1762 or at admissions@rmc.edu