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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss' Russian Ambassador
9/6/2004 | Football
By Katy Lonergan
Assistant Media Relations Director
On September 11, 2001 Ole Miss defensive lineman Daniel Booth lay sleeping in his bed trying to get a little extra rest before another long fall day of classes and football practice, when one of his roommates came in to tell him the news. Booth got up and turned on his television just in time to see the second plane crash into the Twin Towers in New York City and what he thought was a perfect world come crashing down in the moments to follow. At the time, Booth, an Amory native, had recently changed his major from International Business to Business and was just beginning to get involved in that class work. In the days and weeks that followed that tragic September morning, Booth felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. "There was all this chaos going on in the world," Booth said. "I know that most people were affected by the terrorist attacks in one way or another. I just felt like I was sitting there with my hands tied. It was an awful feeling." It was, at that time, that he decided to make a change. In the spring of 2002 Booth changed his major for the second time, and this time he switched to International Studies. He wanted to take classes that would provide him with the necessary background and credentials to have a career in civil service. "I really want to have a chance to make an impact in our world," Booth said. "I don't ever want to have that feeling of helplessness again. I think working in the civil service fi eld will provide me an opportunity to make a difference." Booth, who is enrolled in the Croft Institute of International Studies at Ole Miss, eagerly jumped into the workload in his new major. One of Booth's fi rst orders of business was to select a foreign language. His fi rst choice was Arabic, however, it was not offered at Ole Miss, so Booth chose Russian. While not a popular choice of foreign language such as French or Spanish, Russian has come fairly easy to Booth. After taking a French class and struggling a bit prior to switching majors, Booth excelled with Russian immediately. "I think it was more difficult for me to pick up French because I did not have much of an interest in it," Booth said. "Once I started taking Russian classes, I was looking forward to learning the material so I picked it up very quickly." Now, in his fi fth semester of Russian classes, Booth is progressing well and has a considerable grasp of the European language. He will get a true test of his knowledge, however, when he spends the spring 2005 semester studying abroad in St. Petersburg. In addition to learning Russian, Booth has also taken classes that have provided him with knowledge on the way of life in Eastern European nations, including religion, sociology and historical backgrounds. While being very involved in his studies, Booth has also managed to maintain a high status on the football fi eld. The 6-4, 281-pound senior is the leader of the defensive front. He has played in 33 career games with 13 starts under his belt. According to Ole Miss defensive line coach Rick Petri, Booth has taken his role on the football team as serious as he has his vigor for making the world a better place. "Daniel is an unbelievable leader for us," Petri said. "He is not one to just stand and watch, he wants to make something happen at every opportunity possible. Even though he missed a lot of practice time during the preseason with an injury, he was out on the field helping coach the other guys and encouraging them on every play. "Thats just the kind of guy he is, whether he is on the field himself or he is supporting his teammates, he never sits idle." Football has been an important part of Booth 's life up to this point and he considers it a key component in helping him achieve his goals later in his professional career. "Football has taught me so much," said Booth, who entered today's game with 42 career tackles. "There are so many obstacles we work on daily that trying to accomplish things in the `real world' will come naturally to me. "The person I am today is because of football and the experiences I have had here at Ole Miss. It has helped me build my character." With characters like Booth manning the field for Ole Miss, the Rebels are in good hands.
