THE ROANOKE REGION OF VIRGINIA

That was a little difficult Saturday.

Well-wishers trying to get in touch with Anderson by cellphone were quickly shifted to voice mail.

With all of the other issues spinning inside his head, Anderson had neglected to take his phone charger to Birmingham, Ala.

"I thought I had it charged," said Anderson, an Auburn senior from Roanoke.

"Maybe the battery charge runs down in proportion to the calls you're getting."

At least Anderson didn't have to worry about his phone interrupting a 20-minute interview with committee members, the final step before Anderson learned of his selection around 4 p.m. Central time.

"Honestly, I was very surprised that I won," said Anderson, who has a 3.91 grade-point average at Auburn, where he is a co-captain of the men's swimming team.

Anderson, who will have a two-year scholarship at Oxford University in England, is the first Rhodes Scholar from Auburn in more than 20 years and the first from the Roanoke Valley since Salem's Brad Braxton in 1991.

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