John grew up in New York City and, through the recruitment process, was drawn to Davidson’s small school environment, strong academic reputation and the fact that the basketball program under Lefty Dreisell had ranked in the country’s top 10. Another not-so-small factor was boarding a plane in the snow and arriving in 80-degree North Carolina for his official visit.
“I should have worked harder academically in college, and the many lessons learned while at Davidson became more and more clear the longer I was out in the work world,” he said. “My experiences at Davidson helped me through the next steps of my life, a period when I recognized the need to be more focused, work harder and try to be a better teammate and leader.”
Those traits led John to a successful business career and a desire to pass the Davidson experience on to others.
A Player from Each Class
Once fully funded, the scholarship and internship funds will support one women’s soccer scholar-athlete in each class. The Falconis have helped with internship funding through the Matthews Center for some time, so they wanted to ensure internship opportunities were part of the gift. The family’s primary goal is to “shrink the gap” for exceptional scholar-athletes who need help covering the cost of attending Davidson and securing internships.
“The cost of college is very high, of course, and parents are very focused on their kids’ ability to get a job,” the couple said. “There’s a significant disparity between students who have had internships and those who haven’t.”
Their generosity will go a long way.
“This gift from the Falconi family is transformative for our program,” Women’s Soccer Head Coach Riley Piechnick said. “Not only does it help bridge the competitive scholarship gap between us and the conference, it also puts an emphasis on recruiting scholar-athletes who have a passion for a strong education and their post-graduate careers.
“This is what Davidson Athletics is all about. I can’t thank the Falconi family enough for their support, and I am excited to see how this scholarship impacts the lives of future Davidson women’s soccer players.”
Sarah Falconi Culbertson ’01 is excited to see this gift going specifically to the program that helped set her on a successful life path.
