Whether you’re in the stands on a Saturday afternoon watching him running up and down the field or at the Bell Tower watching him strolling with “the bruhz” of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, you can find the dashing Wyatt Benson Jr. about anywhere on campus.
This eye-catching fella with his pearly white smile is not only kind and polite, but he’s one of the best-rounded guys on this campus. Not only does he play football, but he’s also part of the executive board on the Student Athlete Advisor Committee, a student ran organization that acts as a liaison between administration and temple athletes and coaches. And not only is he a brother of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity Inc., but he’s a big brother to Cory, his little from the Big Brother, Big Sister organization.
I know what you’re asking ladies…Where do they make him, right?
Born and raised right here in Philly, Wyatt has a strong passion for giving back to his community and the Big Brother, Big Sister organization is just one of the ways he does it.
“I feel like that’s something everyone should be forced to do,” says Wyatt, “You should be forced to give back to your community.” Community service is something that Wyatt implements in everything he involves himself in.
Wyatt and his teammates spent a Saturday afternoon at the Lincoln Financial Field participating in Philadelphia Eagles for Autism, where they taught autistic children how to play football. With his fraternity brothers, they made food and took it up to Upper Darby to feed the homeless, where they were fortunate to have had enough food to give away seconds. And, if that wasn’t enough, he has a personal tradition of walking in the HIV/AIDS walk every year. Wyatt commits himself to an enormous list of community service projects that seems longer than a five-year-old’s Christmas wish list! Yes…Do not let the tough, iron-cut exterior fool you. Wyatt is a man of kindness and giving!
Now if you’re anything like me, you’re not only wondering about how difficult it is to be entirely committed to all these things while keeping up and maintaining your schoolwork, but also how difficult it must be to also be a student athlete. Wyatt explains the busy schedule of a football player requires waking up early and being at the football facility by 7 a.m., leaving at noon to grab a quick lunch and face a full day of classes, then it is time to eat again for dinner. Even though Wyatt loves playing football, there is more to him than the sport.
“I felt like it was restricting a lot of things, a lot of talents that I have,” he explains. He likes to keep busy and be involved in every part of campus. With the mindset like any other college kid, he “wanted to enjoy college and take advantage of it!”
Talking about how awesome Wyatt is was fun and all, but I wanted to get to know him a little more than if I just asked about his strengths and weaknesses. So I added a little Her Campus twist to the interview and asked him some of our famous silly questions that may sound simple, but are a lot harder to answer than people imagine…Wyatt can vouch for that one!
I started off with the clever, “If you were part of a salad, what ingredient would you be and why?” After a moment of thought, he chuckled and answered: the croutons. “When you get a salad, you’re expecting the croutons to be there,” he says. “You’re like looking around for it like ‘where are the croutons?’” And as he mentioned before, he likes to be involved around campus and show face at various types of events and programs. He loves to hear people ask, “Where’s Wyatt at?” just as they would be searching their chicken caesar salad for those crunchy, yummy croutons. In other words, there’s no party without Wyatt!
And to wrap it up, I asked him which Disney character he would be and why. Reiterating his need to be involved and the fact that he is a people person, Wyatt thought his perfect Disney match would be none other than the glorious Hercules.
“At the end of the movie, he could have gone up to Mount Olympus with the gods, but instead he chose to stay with the people,” Wyatt says in admiration, “As well as the fact that he’s a strong, good looking guy,” he explains, “and he got the girl.” Wink, wink ladies, he’s a lover too!
Whether it’s on TV on football Sundays or the highest rank in the criminal justice department, I have a great feeling that this isn’t the last of Mr. Benson that we will be seeing. This Temple Owl will definitely stretch his wings as far as possible and more.