<p>From the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette </p>
<p>May 29, 2009 </p>
<p>Jerry Dickinson never seriously entertained the possibility of playing professional soccer during his first three years at the College of the Holy Cross. </p>
<p>Although he had been a starter since his freshman season and a three-year captain, playing soccer for a living seemed like a distant dream. </p>
<p>But by the time Dickinson was finishing his stellar college career for the Crusaders, he was getting feelers from professional teams, including an invitation to a tryout for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. </p>
<p>There was only one problem. Dickinson had another opportunity that he could not turn down. </p>
<p>Dickinson, 22, a Shaler Area High School graduate, was awarded a Fulbright grant to work and study at the University of Witwatersrand School of Law and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies in Johannesburg, South Africa. </p>
<p>Only 1,500 students are awarded Fulbright grants each year and Dickinson is one of only 159 African-Americans to earn one this year. The Fulbright grants are funded by the U.S. State Department, which this year contributed nearly $221 million to the fellowships. </p>
<p>Dickinson will spend a year in South Africa and will write his master's dissertation on how to better serve the interests of low-income black African families in Johannesburg, where forced evictions occur at a high rate. </p>
<p>Holy</a> Cross' Dickinson Picks Fulbright Grant Over Soccer - PATRIOT OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE</p>