Justin Maxwell: Scholar, Gentleman (and Star Athlete)
12/14/2004 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 14, 2004
Justin Maxwell: Scholar, Gentleman (and Star Athlete)
by: Virginia Gerhart
In the 1988 baseball film, "Bull Durham", a talented-but-raw young ball player had to be taught poise, how to conduct himself as a gentleman and, most importantly, why he needed to develop a respect for himself and his talent. Spend more than a few minutes with six-foot-five Terrapin slugger Justin Maxwell and you discover he already embodies these characteristics.
At the beginning of his senior year at the college, Justin is also an animal sciences major with a 3.9 GPA. How did a young man who¹s been drafted by two major league teams - Baltimore tried to tap the centerfielder right out of high school and more recently he was picked to join the Texas Rangers - end up on campus in an era when star athletes are heading for the majors practically before they finish learning how to tie their Nikes?
Justin reasons, "It wasn¹t worth passing up the opportunity to go to college." One of only ten athletes in 2003 to be chosen an Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar by the news magazine Black Issues in Higher Education, Justin learned from his parents - both retired Navy dentists - that you should go out and get what you want in life. "I learned from the success of my parents to strive and stick to a goal."
Short-term, goalwise, he hopes to play professional ball. "Barring injuries," he says, "I hope to have a long career in baseball." His long-term goal? Veterinary school, most likely. "In the long run," he says, "the animal sciences degree will give me the opportunity to apply to veterinary school or another professional school. The degree gives you options. I could even apply to dental school."
The Montgomery County native has thrived at Maryland and found a home in the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences. His career here "was a perfect fit," he says. The 4.0 GPA high school grad was accepted at Harvard and Cornell, but chose Maryland because it offered him the opportunity to explore both his passions - animals and sports. He credits John Doerr, his advisor, with having successfully initiated him into the academic field. "I took Animal Science 101 from Dr. Doerr and he got me interested right off the bat." He also acclaims Mark Varner and Mary Ann Ottinger who co-teach "an excellent reproductive physiology class."
As for how does manage to excel in his studies and on the diamond, where be batted .317 in 2003, he cites the members of the athletic department, who from the start emphasized the need for students playing sports to learn to practice time management. "They told us," says Justin, "you have to learn to study when you otherwise might not feel like it. Here the emphasis is academics first, playing sports second."
His advice to high school juniors and seniors who want to go to vet school or have a career in agriculture: "I¹d tell them Maryland is the place to come. It has vast resources plus an Extension program, which extends across the state."
Justin recounts that four years back when he told his friends at home that he was going to take animal sciences courses in a school of ag, "they thought it was an amazing thing, and that the courses would be so difficult. My classes are a great challenge for me and now I can see why my friends were oohing and ahhing."
