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May 24, 2010  Jason Koski/University Photography Senior profile: Megan Benjamin
Major: History Why did you choose Cornell?
After becoming the equestrian vaulting world champion in 2006, I stopped and reflected -- what more? Just a few weeks into my freshman year at Santa Clara University, I realized I was unsatisfied, so I applied to transfer to Cornell, my dad's alma mater. (I've been wearing Cornell sweatshirts since before I can remember.) My dad gets to celebrate his 30th reunion when I graduate this May. Needless to say, he's stoked. Main Cornell extracurricular activity -- why is it important to you?
Equestrian vaulting -- gymnastics and dance on a cantering horse -- and all the cross training that goes along with it. I love the opportunities vaulting has presented me, the friends it has allowed me to make, and, of course, the physical thrill and freedom of cartwheels on a cantering horse. While at Cornell, what other accomplishments/activities are you most proud of?
I'm particularly proud of finishing two Cornell semesters with a 4.0 and successfully driving my standard transmission car up and down the hills of Ithaca without stalling once. Real chicks drive sticks ... especially in Ithaca. Beyond the Ithaca campus, I served on several equestrian boards and the eight-person International Equestrian Federation Athletes' Committee appointed by HRH Princess Haya of Jordan and attended multiple meetings in locales from Kentucky to Switzerland. I also teach vaulting clinics all over the world (spring break was in Brazil!) and frequently travel home to California to train and to Denmark, the Netherlands and California for important selection trials for the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG). Miraculously, I've managed to convince my professors that all this traveling doesn't affect my studies, and many of them have allowed me to turn in assignments early so I can keep up my vaulting adventures. Your most profound turning point while at Cornell?
In January I chose to drop writing my history honors thesis when I realized I didn't have enough time to write the thesis to the standards I hold myself while simultaneously training for WEG. That took a lot of guts, because I had already invested a lot into the project. I didn't want to disappoint my professors and feared I wouldn't be able to spend time with my best friends in the program if we weren't commiserating in the basement of Olin. Turns out great friends make time for each other even while they are off doing different things, great professors are proud (albeit slightly disappointed) when their students make decisions that seem right for them, and most of the time, it's best to focus on just a few things instead of everything at once. Did any of your beliefs or interests change during your time at Cornell?
I learned I could be passionate about academics without being consumed by them. Being a nerd doesn't require relinquishing social and athletic interests. What are your plans for next year; where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Until October, I will be training for WEG to be held in Kentucky, Sept. 25 to Oct. 10. After that, I'd love to live in San Francisco and have a really obscure job with a budding entrepreneur. Hopefully someone will recognize all my strange vaulting committee/board work as evidence of competence, and I'll figure out the rest from there. In 10 years I hope to be doing something I love with someone I love. |
