Tillman Scholars make connections with each other and the community at annual Pat's Run

By the time the Tillman Scholars reach the Pat's Run start line, there's an ease, a comfortable feeling that they're among peers, like-minded people who uphold the values of the race's namesake, NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman. “I had major imposter syndrome after getting selected to this program,” said Jason Williams, a Tillman Scholar and doctorate candidate at UCLA working on reimagining raw materials for the health and wellness industry. “I looked at a lot of their profiles and it just seemed like every person was like a superhero, but when you actually get there, not only are they amazing on paper, they’re amazing people.

I don’t know what they do in their selection process to find these people. ” Pat's Run began in 2004 as a way to honor the legacy of Tillman, who walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL career to serve his country in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The run, which started as a gathering of friends following his death in Afghanistan by friendly fire, has blossomed into 4. 2-mile run/walk — Tillman's number was 42 — that draws 30,000 people to the desert every year. The Tillman Scholars program was created in 2009 to support active-duty service members, veterans and military spouses in their academic pursuits.

The race serves as a fundraiser for the scholars, a 1,000-member tribe of uber-achievers who embody the leadership and selflessness Tillman exhibited. The two connected worlds mesh in person every year at Arizona State University, where 50 Tillman Scholars serve as corral leaders and help urge runners across the final 50 yards of turf to the finish line inside the football stadium where Tillman once played. “It’s this almost kind of a coming home right to where it all started,” said Katherine Steele, Pat Tillman Foundation CEO and a Tillman Scholar.