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The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in October, 1997.
Benjamin S. Appleyard '98
Making great strides in track and in the field of English
A quintessential scholar-athlete, Benjamin S. Appleyard '98 is an English literature major who has captained three varsity sports while earning faculty honors in academics four out of his six semesters at Trinity. The senior is also vice president of the Trinity College Activities Council (TCAC), has worked as an intern in the marketing department of the Webster Theater, and spent last summer working on the BankBoston United Way campaign. For Appleyard, being at Trinity has meant immersing himself in his academics, athletics, and extracurricular pursuits.
The Falmouth, MA native toured several schools before visiting the College. "At Trinity something clicked," he recalls. "It just felt right." Appleyard's positive feeling turned out to be right in many respects, for he has flourished since coming to the College.
A runner in the 800-meter and mile events for only one season in high school, Appleyard continued to run at Trinity, made impressive gains in his abilities, and has garnered several awards for his skill and dedication. As a sophomore, he was awarded a position on the Academic All-NESCAC Team. Last year he received the Bob Harron "Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award." And in spring 1997 he earned All-New England status as the result of his third-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the New England Division III Championships. This year, Appleyard is captain of all three of the varsity teams on which he competes -- cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. For Appleyard, there is no off-season. He explains, "I love running. You go out for a long run and you have time to yourself. You can take a break and think. There's a certain kind of clarity that comes to you while you're running."
Appleyard credits Trinity's athletic program with his success as a runner. "At any other school, an out-of-practice first-year student might have been ignored. At Trinity I found my place and received a lot of support." Much of that support has come from Head Cross Country and Indoor Track Coach and Assistant Outdoor Track Coach George A. Suitor, who, says Appleyard, "has been very understanding about blending schoolwork and practice." Coach Suitor describes Appleyard as "extraordinarily hardworking. Ben's grown into an outstanding college runner. He's the most improved student-athlete I've ever worked with. He's dedicated, works hard, and is level-headed. He's pretty quiet, but he's a quiet leader -- a great leader."
Thinking across boundaries
Appleyard's academic perspective is an expansive one that has grown more complex during his time at Trinity. In his first two years at the College, Appleyard participated in the interdisciplinary curriculum of the Guided Studies Program, an honors program that allowed him to delve into philosophy, religion, history, and literature. Reluctant to abandon any of those fields, he chose to major in English literature, a major that enables him to combine the best parts of the other disciplines he came to love in Guided Studies. "As an English major I can develop my ideas about literature in complex ways," he notes. "English blends different fields together as a way of thinking. You need history, philosophy, and religion to fully understand literature."
His desire to think across boundaries has led him to pursue an interdisciplinary approach in his own research. For his senior thesis, Appleyard will focus on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and on two films based on the novel. He intends to study the ways in which the screenplays and original literary text differ based on the audiences they were written for. "If you watch Apocalypse Now knowing Heart of Darkness, you can see that the same story line is there but in a strikingly different interpretation. The interpretation is different because the film is catering to a different audience with different needs," he explains.
A wealth of extracurricular experiences
Much as Appleyard has explored a variety of disciplines to pursue his interest in English, he has also explored a range of extracurricular opportunities. Last year, through Trinity's everexpanding internship program, he interned in the marketing department of Hartford's Webster Theater, where he helped to analyze "what's going to be popular, what isn't, and what demographic groups want what entertainment within this region."
This past summer, Appleyard continued to explore his interests in community service and in various careers by volunteering to work on the BankBoston's United Way campaign. As vice president of TCAC, an organization that provides the campus community with entertainment and activities, Appleyard has discovered that, whatever career he chooses, service must be a part of it. "I want to make sure that whatever I end up doing I'm helping people in some way," he explains.
Setting priorities with sports
Appleyard credits his success at Trinity to the interplay of his academic, athletic, and extracurricular interests. "People perform better in general when they have a sport," he claims. "Athletics helps you to realize what you can and cannot do, and lets you see your priorities."
Clearly, Appleyard realized what he could do at Trinity and has done it very well. As he looks forward to his senior year and life after graduation, the English major has not ruled out exploring new and as yet undiscovered areas of interest. "The major doesn't limit you to anything or guide you to anything," he observes. "You have to guide yourself."
--Jenica Parker Rogers '98