David Fieno wasn't unlike many other Ohio University students. He worked hard while he was at OU, but was burdened by the high price tag of going to college.

In his freshman year, 1992-93, he was approached by Karen Eichstadt, an associate professor of chemistry, who first proposed that he apply for the Goldwater Scholarship. "She was the one who told me about it," he says. Until that time, Fieno had heard of many of the prestigious awards available to students like him, but he payed them little attention.

Fieno decided to apply for the scholarship, which if he won would pay for his last two years of undergraduate study. He spent about six weeks going through the application process. Overall, he spent about two weeks' worth of work applying, and it involved not only his own efforts but those of Eichstadt and other OU faculty, who wrote recommendations. The application included four or five essays, he says, and he had to answer questions about his future plans and about himself as a person.

Fieno, unfortunately, did not win the scholarship that year. Nevertheless, he tried again the following year, submitting what he and Eichstadt thought was a better research project. They were right, and the second time around, he won.

For each of his final two years at OU, Fieno received a check for $7,500 - a rarity for scholarships, which are usually transacted through the student's university. For that reason, Fieno says "it really was a true monetary award." Before then, about a third of his college expenses were paid for by other scholarships, and the additional money from the Goldwater award helped tremendously. The scholarship was a "financial relief," he says, because "you have a certain amount of time to do things," and by having the money to afford college, he could concentrate on academics and not on working to pay his way through college. In effect, it was a gift of time as much as money; after winning, he decided to against graduating early, and took on a second major during his fourth year at OU. The extra year helped him to better prepare for his future, he says.

What he gained in addition to money and time was a new attitude about academics and life. Fieno noticed that many of his colleagues, who were just as smart and successful as he was, did not try to achieve their highest goals because they were seen as unattainable. But he learned that by simply trying, a student can achieve almost anything academically. In the words of Mark Twain, Fieno points out, "Ninety percent of success is showing up."

After graduating from OU, Fieno applied for medical schools, but was rejected by all of them. That did not discourage him, however, and he went on to graduate school at Northwestern, where he felt that he could eventually get into medical school. "I knew that I was bound for a good medical school," he reflects, and he was right. David Fieno is a month from his Ph.D., and plans to seek residency in California.

Fieno credits part of his achievements to luck, and part to a belief in himself, which he says is a vital characteristic for a student to have. Hard work, however, should not be ignored as a key ingredient to success in school and in life. "I think the mission of Senator Goldwater was to encourage scholastic endeavours," Fieno says.

By having confidence and putting forth the effort, as he has learned, a student can reach the loftiest of goals. This knowledge, rather than money, was the real award that David Fieno gained from winning a Goldwater Scholarship.