Inside | the | House SCHOLAR NEWS Stories by D. Aileen Dodd
Decathlete Blake Benyard ’17 ran track, graduated magna cum laude, and won the award for having highest grade point average in the physics department.
Scholar-Athlete Alumnus Hits His Stride at Morehouse When Blake Benyard ’17 was a Morehouse College scholar-athlete, he dashed and hurdled, vaulted and jumped, and pushed himself to reach the end of a race. His endurance was unyielding. But at Commencement, this decathlete finally paused at the finish line. After four years on the run, the physics major from Lorain, Ohio, graduated magna cum laude with an award for having the highest grade point average in the physics department—a 3.8.
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A man who takes care of his business, has tunnel vision yet is aware of his surroundings, keeps his head on straight, is competitive by nature, and very competent wherever he goes.” — BLAKE BENYARD ‘17 Benyard was accepted into three doctoral programs and is now attending the University of Wisconsin on a SciMed Graduate Research Fellowship that will help cover the full cost of his Ph.D. “I want to become a clinical medical physicist working in hospitals with cancer patients,” Benyard said. “I would love to be in the midst of the research on a cure for cancer.” Benyard credits his success to Morehouse College and the investment that professors, coaches, and donors made in his future. When he graduated from Lorain High with a perfect 4.0, Benyard had his “heart set” on Morehouse, but his acceptance letter came without financial aid. As the son of a single mother, he knew he needed to make his own way.
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And so his race began. “I worked with my high school advisor, and we kept calling Morehouse almost every day until we found someone who could help,” Benyard recalled. The dean of admissions at the time told Benyard to write the College to explain his situation. Benyard said his plea helped him land a $23,000-a-year annual scholarship, which brought tears to his mother’s eyes. He then joined the track team as a walk-on and dedicated himself to striving for excellence on the field and in the classroom. Benyard became fluent in Mandarin, for example, and dedicated himself to being a physics major and math minor. He understood, however, that physics was a difficult subject and would require the same dedication that he gave to decathlons. So, on Saturdays, he trained. He went to six-hour tutoring sessions with his physics professor, Dr. John Howard, and a drop-in class of ambitious young scientists. Benyard kept straight A’s throughout his sophomore, junior, and senior years. His chemistry professor also recommended him for a summer research internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. “The work made me more passionate about my major,” he said. “It showed me the kind of research time you have to put in as a scientist.” Benyard has said he is thankful for his experience at Morehouse. It’s where he learned to be a “Morehouse Man,” which he defines this way: “A man who takes care of his business, has tunnel vision yet is aware of his surroundings, keeps his head on straight, is competitive by nature, and very competent wherever he goes.” Now, the alumnus is taking Morehouse teachings with him as he moves toward a new finish line—the journey that ends in a doctorate. M