Though they never met, Matt Reilly knew Chancellor Melvin Eggers well. Eggers was Syracuse University’s chancellor during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. Reilly wrote a lengthy profile last year on Eggers, in which he learned about the tragedy.

‘I learned about Pan Am 103 through writing the profile,’ Reilly said. ‘I was able to tie in my favorite activity – writing for The Daily Orange – to the Remembrance Scholarship. That connection was very important to me.’

As a Remembrance Scholar, Reilly represents Ken Bissett, a Cornell University junior who was studying abroad through Syracuse University. Bissett, like Reilly, loved to write. He wrote for The DO and was quoted by his family as hoping to be ‘the next Stephen King.’

Reilly, a senior political science and public relations major, is on the Student Standards Committee at The College of Arts and Sciences and a staff writer for The DO. He said serving as a Remembrance Scholar is one of the most important responsibilities he’s ever had.

‘Above anything else, it is just an honor to be recognized by the university and my peers for the things I have done,’ Reilly said. ‘I have grown a greater appreciation for the traditions of the university in terms of remembering this event. And I think the scholarship is a wonderful way to do it.’

Published on October 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm