This week’s INTRODUCING … featured student-athlete is Salisbury University senior Cory Beebe, the 2010 CAC Men’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year and national qualifier.

Beebe won individual titles in the 400 dash, 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles and anchored the gold medal 4x400 relay team’s performance at the 2010 CAC Championships.  He is a 2009 All-American and national champion in the 400 hurdles, Beebe is a candidate to return to the NCAA Championships this year. 

What is your background in the sport you play?  I started to run track in middle school and always thought the hurdles looked fun.  The first time the coach talked to us about hurdles he tried to scare some people off by showing videos of people falling down and getting all scraped up but the next day at practice we went over a few and I was naturally pretty good and I have stuck with them ever since.  I was fairly successful in high school, I was all state in Ohio my senior year and all region my junior and senior year but I didn’t really take off until I got to college and really started to work hard. 

What is your favorite spot on campus?  My favorite spot on campus has to be the track.  It’s just a place that I can go and really feel at home.  I don’t have a lot out here to look at and remind me of home and I miss home a lot so if anything isn’t going the way I want it to in life I can always look forward to getting out to practice with the team and forgetting about everything going on and focus just on what I am doing on the track.  And there is something about the smell of the track on a hot day that I just love.

Other than your team, what organization (s) do you participate in?   It’s all track for me and outside of practice, school in the number-one thing.  Track and school take up the majority of my free time and if I have free time I just like to relax with some of the people on the team and play some video games here and there.

What is the most important societal issue facing college students?  I think that the most important societal issue to college students is getting a job after graduation.  I think that is an issue because so many people are graduating and going after the same jobs.  Everyone is going to have a degree and some are going to have a degree from a more prestigious school, students need to find their X factor and see what they have that nobody else does, what is that one thing that sets you apart from everyone else that makes you deserve the job more.

What is your major in college, and what is the most important thing you learned in that discipline?  I am majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration on Business and Physical Education.  The most important thing that I have learned in my major is learning more about using Microsoft Access and Excel.  Those two programs are so important to know how to use in the world today now that computers are used in nearly every profession.  Also, because I want to be a coach, knowing how to use these programs will be very helpful when it comes to organizing recruiting lists, rosters, stats and etc.  

Other than your family members, who was the most influential person in your life?  Other than family the most influential person in my life is Kevin Lucas.  He was the person who recruited me coming out of high school and he is the reason I am in the place I am.  He taught me how to run the way I run now and he showed me how to push myself harder than I thought I ever could.  Outside of track he is someone that is always there for me and if I need help in anything he is somebody that I could go to and get help regardless of the situation.

If you could give one piece of advice to elementary school children, what would that advice be?  Never give up on your dreams and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.  Keep your head up and keep going.  If somebody tells you that you can’t do something, use it as motivation to prove them wrong and be the best you can.  Set your mind to something and reach for it every single day and once you reach one goal, set another and strive for it.  Be happy about things you have achieved but don’t be satisfied, once you become satisfied it becomes a lot harder to improve.  But most importantly, never, ever give up on your dreams. 

What is your favorite form of entertainment?  Video games for sure.  I cannot get enough of video games.  I just find them very entertaining and it’s something that doesn’t get old to me.  It’s a never ending cycle, once you finish one game you can always start a new one.  Also, they keep coming out with new and better games, graphics keep getting better, games are more in depth and it’s something that you can do with friends.  I can’t wait to see what they come out with next.

Outside of the Capital Athletic Conference, who or what is your favorite sports person or team?  My favorite team is the Michigan State basketball team.  Other than track, basketball is my favorite sport, especially when March rolls around.  My dad is a MSU alum and they have a great team year in and year out.  And the coach that they have (Tom Izzo) puts them in a position to make a run in the tourney every year regardless of seeding.

Name three (3) people, real or fictional, living or dead, that you'd like to have dinner with? 

1)      Edwin Moses-He would have to be my number one pick because in my opinion he was the best 400 hurdler of all time.  He also was a division III athlete and is from my home state of Ohio. 

2)        Muhammad Ali in his prime- He is one of the, if not the greatest sports figures of all time.  I love his swagger, the way he carries himself and he has some of my favorite quotes.

3)      George Washington- One of the founding fathers of our country and the first President of the USA.  I think it would be amazing to get to sit down with him and just listen to him talk.