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Catawba College freshman, Nathan Hatley, is one of the recipients of a 2013 Sacks for Cystic Fibrosis Scholarship, awarded by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Nathan was one of the $10,000 scholarship recipients announced on Super Bowl Sunday.
"This scholarship is going straight toward my tuition," Hatley said, noting that he had submitted his application materials for the scholarship to the Foundation in early January. "I'm just so grateful to have received it."
These scholarships, ranging from $3,000 to $10,000, are awarded annually to 30 undergraduate and graduate students with Cystic Fibrosis who show promise in the classroom while staying complaint and adhering to their treatments for the disease. The Sacks for CF Scholarship is related to quarterback sacks made during the NFL season. For every sack recorded during the NFL Monday Night Football games, the Sacks for CF Scholarship program receives a donation from a Boomer Esiason Foundation corporate partner.
A resident of King, N.C., Hatley is the son of Jerry and Tammy Hatley. He attended West Stokes High School and transferred to Catawba College from UNC Greensboro. Pursuing a double major in Exercise Science and Spanish, he is a member of Catawba's Cross-Country team and plays the trumpet in the Catawba Pride Marching Band.
Hatley's association with the Boomer Esiason Foundation goes back a few years. He applied for and received the Exercise for Life Scholarship through this Foundation in 2011. He has since raised $500 for the Foundation prior to his participation in Boomer's 10K Run to Breathe, held in New York City's Central Park in July 2012.
"I actually met Boomer after I finished that 10K as a member of Team Boomer. Running for Team Boomer was a proud moment for me. One of the most astonishing things was that Boomer already knew who I was. Me, just a kid from the small town of King, North Carolina, I felt pretty special. I was also interviewed by a local newspaper after the race about why I participated and how I felt about the occasion."
Hatley said he is sure that he will continue to raise support and awareness for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which has provided him with not only scholarships but also the mentorship of Mr. Jerry Cahill who has given him a lot of advice about living with Cystic Fibrosis and living up to his responsibilities. "I just want to raise awareness for people with Cystic Fibrosis and to let them and everyone else know that it isn't a death sentence. It just gives you a few more hills to get over along the way and that just makes you tougher" said Hatley.
Boomer Esiason is a retired American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO. He is currently an analyst for CBS Sports primarily on The NFL Today, as well as morning co-host on New York radio station WFAN and Monday Night Football analyst for Westwood One.
In 1993, while at a New York Jets mini-camp, Esiason received word that his two-year-old son, Gunnar, had to be taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties. Soon after, Gunnar was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, and the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) was formed. Today, Gunnar Esiason is an active 21-year-old senior at Boston College who undergoes daily treatments for CF and takes medication.
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