PACE PRIDE
Going for the Gold …
Pace University Grad Tim Morehouse Heads to Beijing as a Member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team
New York, NY August 6, 2008 – Tim Morehouse has made history twice at Pace University.
The first time was when he became part of the inaugural Teach for America/Pace University class, earning a Masters in Teaching degree from Pace’s School of Education in 2003.
Now he’s done it again … as a member of the U.S. Olympic Fencing team, a Pace first.
Morehouse is currently ranked number 17 in the world in men’s saber and number 2 in the United States. He was an alternate at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and a three-time All-American at Brandeis University.
Pace President Stephen J. Friedman, who fenced saber for Princeton during his undergraduate years, states, “We are thrilled that Tim chose Pace for his graduate degree, worked in New York City schools and earned a place on the U.S. Olympic Fencing team. His selection resulted from years of hard work, disciplined training and total dedication. We wish him the very best in Beijing.”
Dueling passions: fencing AND education
Since 2000, Morehouse has juggled his global fencing schedule with his career in New York City with Teach For America, a non-profit focused on eliminating educational inequality. He spent three years in the classroom at Pace during evenings and weekends, and during days, as a seventh grade teacher at Mirabal Sisters School in Washington Heights. Currently he is working as a part-time recruiting/human resource manager for Teach For America so that he can have greater flexibility to train and compete.
Morehouse describes fencing as a chess-boxing hybrid. “Fencing combines the mental, strategic characteristics of chess with the movement eloquence of boxing,” he said. “Athletically, there’s very little difference in the #1 ranked individual and the one at #20. You simply need to perform when it really matters. You have to think ahead of your opponent and solve the puzzle of how to get to him.
“The Olympics are mental games,” Morehouse continued. “You must learn to deal with the emotions and pressures. I can handle the nerves and being in the spotlight. My approach to anything is to set an ambitious goal and believe in myself. Before fencing came into my life, I had never traveled internationally. Now I’m a contender for an Olympic medal!”
Olympic coverage … and life after the Games
Morehouse will be the subject of an NBC documentary, “My First Time: Competing in the Olympics,” which will follow him “living his life” as he prepares for the Olympics, works at Teach For America and even dates. The show is expected to air on NBC-TV on Saturday, August 9th at 7 PM.
The Men’s Saber Team event (Morehouse’s competition) is scheduled to be broadcast on MSNBC on Sunday, August 17. Check your local listings.
Following the 2008 Olympics, Morehouse’s goal is to merge his passions – education and fencing.
In that regard, Morehouse has channeled his energies to create a campaign and dedicated website to attract 10,000 NEW fencers of all ages and body types to “one of the safest sports of the world” – http://www.tenthousandfencers.com/
Morehouse’s eBook Breakthrough Fencing is a step-by-step guide to all one needs to know about the sport and will be released in late October. It will also feature his amazing true-life story of how he first got interested in fencing (he joined a high school fencing class to get out of gym) and his personal journey to the Olympics.
Learn more about Tim Morehouse at www.timmorehouse.com
About Pace University. For 102 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality professional education resting on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling more than 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, Law School, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. http://www.pace.edu/
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Media Contact:
Samuella R. Becker
Pace University, Public Information
sbecker2@pace.edu
Special thanks to Sammie Becker, Mom of USCF National Master Adam Maltese, for sending me this.
Good luck Tim!