Academics and Athletics at DePauw
Decathlete doesn’t limit himself to 10 events By Jonathan C. Coffin
For a decathlete, few concepts are likely to be as important as discipline. To compete in 10 separate events over the course of two days – let alone train and master them – takes a lot of it. Perhaps only balance ranks higher in the hierarchy of mental characteristics that Robert W. Steele Jr. ’11 deems necessary to keep him at his best. “I play a lot of roles,” he says. “[The decathlon] represents me as a person. It’s not spreading yourself thin, but making you stronger in so many areas of yourself.” The concept seems to apply to the rest of his life as well. Steele is a philosophy major with minors in political science and black studies. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta, a resident assistant to first-year students in Humbert Hall and a three-year member of DePauw’s nationally recognized Ethics Bowl team. Just for good measure, the law-schoolbound senior is also an Honor Scholar, writing his thesis on the ethics of client confidentiality and how it’s tied to wrongful convictions. “I’m observing the intricacies of how the law dictates ethics within the legal profession,” he says. “What are the obligations I have as a lawyer? My roles as an officer of the court versus an advocate 26 DePauw Magazine I Winter 2011
for my client and how those [competing interests] affect my decisions.” It is not a surprise, perhaps, that Steele has found a passion for the law. President Kennedy appointed his great-uncle, James Benton Parsons, as the nation’s first African-American federal district court judge with a life tenure. Steele, who has a particular interest in criminal and constitutional law, would eventually like to follow in his great-uncle’s footsteps. Still ahead, however, is his senior season as co-captain of DePauw’s track and field team. It will be the capstone of a career that began in fourth grade with a school record in the standing broad jump and continued with two trips to the Hershey National Track and Field Championships.
At Illinois’ Wheaton North High School, Steele competed in the 400-meter run, long jump and on the 4x400 relay team. He also made two trips to the state meet, with injuries keeping him out of a four-year sweep. Now, with three seasons under his belt at DePauw, Steele is poised to make a final run at the decathlon, a 10-event competition that ranges from long jump, to javelin to the 110-meter hurdles and the 1,500-meter run. He has worked hard for the year and season. “What that immediately comes to mind when you think of Robert, is his intensity,” said Kori Stoffregen, DePauw’s head track and field coach. “He’s very focused and intense when it comes to his sport.”
Robert W. Steele Jr. ’11, second from left, and his teammates at the Ethics Bowl regional competition.