Eastern Michigan Athletics
Former Eagle Sean Beckom II Aims to Give Back
1/25/2021 1:00:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
Beckom II will mentor high school students in Saginaw City School District
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Former Eastern Michigan University track & field standout and 2020 EMU graduate Sean Beckom II has always found ways to succeed.
"When I get bored or feel as though I'm not moving forward, I teach myself another skill," said Beckom II. "I always like to move forward in life."
The former track star is now a graduate student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. where he received a Corporate Fellow Scholarship, but Beckom II's success never came easy.
Having to juggle sports and academics is a difficult task for all student-athletes, but those who are determined to better themselves, like Beckom II, push themselves to make the most out of every opportunity.
On the track, the Saginaw native was a vital piece on the EMU men's track & field team. As a sprinter, Beckom II consistently recorded top-10 finishes throughout his years with the program. However, his efforts in academics were equally as impressive. Beckom II, a psychology and communication double-major, was a five-time Mid-American Conference All-Academic honoree.
Beckom II complimented his prowess in track with his hard work in the classroom, as the MAC awarded him with the Medal of Excellence Award in 2020. As described by MAC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher, "The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service."
However, his dedication to his classwork went beyond just studying hard. With his two majors, Beckom II spent countless in-person hours as an undergraduate researcher with Dr. Chong Man Chow's Psychology Youth and Relation Lab. The Heritage product used this time to learn alongside doctoral students, assist in studies, and publish his own study which he presented at the 39th EMU Undergraduate Symposium.
Not wanting to take away time from training, Beckom II and Associate Head Track Coach Sterling Roberts came up with a plan to perform 6 a.m. workouts to make more time for labs later in the day. "Sterling (Roberts) is a great coach and a better friend," explained Beckom II. "Going through hardships and ups and downs with track and field or school or life, I spent time talking to Roberts for hours in the office just working through a lot of different things."
From 2018-19 Beckom II became a TRIO Student Support Services mentor where he was tasked with mentoring 10 first-generation students and low-income students on campus.
Beckom II was also a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative at Eastern Michigan where he worked on the SAAC Diversity and Mental Health Committee and was chosen to be the EMU male representative for the MAC Mental Health Summit in Cleveland, Ohio.
With all of this success, Beckom II wants to give back. Being raised in Saginaw, he experienced life-altering hardships such as losing his father. However, rather than falling into a cycle of pain and depression, Beckom II broke the mold, as he explained "I understand that life hurts, but life does not stop for anybody...break those cycles of pain. You can do it because I've done it."
Beckom II's values of perseverance and helping others were instilled by his mother at a young age. "My mom always taught us to help others," said Beckom II. "It takes nothing out of your day to help express to others different ways to better their lives." This sentiment led to Beckom II's pursuit of mentorship and has ultimately created platforms for him to spread positive messages of diversifying oneself to succeed.
Beckom II's experiences being a mentor began in middle school where coaches Ricky Flowers and Donavon Hughes gave him opportunities to lead. "They put me in positions where I had to lead," explained Beckom II. "A lot of times in middle school and high school, I taught teammates how to run out of the blocks." As he became a seasoned veteran at EMU, he helped guide many of the younger members on the team. "Even within my college years, I was helping out Roberts with 'Hey do you want me to help them with this or that.'"
And now, Beckom II is sharing his knowledge and experiences with high school students in the Saginaw school district. His main three messages to students are: 1) diversify yourself, 2) connect with others, and 3) have confidence in yourself.
In regards to diversifying oneself, Beckom II believes that in order to maximize one's opportunities and potential, one can not have just one skill. As Beckom II outlined, "Don't just be an athlete, don't just be an artist, learn more." This sentiment pushed him to learn different skills such as Photoshop which he used to create posters for the track and field teams while at Eastern Michigan.
Beckom II also stresses the importance of connecting with others. People who don't reach out for help or don't try to help others, limit themselves without realizing it. In regards to academics, Beckom II reached great heights due to his connections with his professors. "Every professor at Eastern was very helpful to me," said Beckom II. "They always taught me something, they always helped me move forward, and if they didn't know anything, they'd push towards another professor."
Lastly, having confidence in yourself is another key talking point Beckom II wants to advertise. "I know I'm not the smartest in the room, I wasn't the fastest on the track, but I do very well for myself because of the confidence I have in myself and that I outwork everybody and have a very strong regiment," said Beckom II. "And I would like to preach that to a lot of other people because they may not feel they're the best at anything, but you can stand out being great at a lot of things."
For the success he has achieved, Beckom II would like to thank his communication mentor Dr. O'Grady, his psychology mentor Dr. Chow, the former Director of SASS Kellynn Wilson, the superintendent of Saginaw Public Schools Dr. Raymont M. Roberts, Principal Martha M. Fordham, coaches Ricky Flowers, Donavon Hughes, and Sterling Roberts, and his mother, Brenda Beckom, and sister, Loring Beckom.
For updates on all things Eastern Michigan cross country and track and field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, @EMUXC_TF, and Twitter, @EMUXC_TF.
"When I get bored or feel as though I'm not moving forward, I teach myself another skill," said Beckom II. "I always like to move forward in life."
The former track star is now a graduate student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. where he received a Corporate Fellow Scholarship, but Beckom II's success never came easy.
Having to juggle sports and academics is a difficult task for all student-athletes, but those who are determined to better themselves, like Beckom II, push themselves to make the most out of every opportunity.
On the track, the Saginaw native was a vital piece on the EMU men's track & field team. As a sprinter, Beckom II consistently recorded top-10 finishes throughout his years with the program. However, his efforts in academics were equally as impressive. Beckom II, a psychology and communication double-major, was a five-time Mid-American Conference All-Academic honoree.
Beckom II complimented his prowess in track with his hard work in the classroom, as the MAC awarded him with the Medal of Excellence Award in 2020. As described by MAC Commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher, "The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service."
However, his dedication to his classwork went beyond just studying hard. With his two majors, Beckom II spent countless in-person hours as an undergraduate researcher with Dr. Chong Man Chow's Psychology Youth and Relation Lab. The Heritage product used this time to learn alongside doctoral students, assist in studies, and publish his own study which he presented at the 39th EMU Undergraduate Symposium.
Not wanting to take away time from training, Beckom II and Associate Head Track Coach Sterling Roberts came up with a plan to perform 6 a.m. workouts to make more time for labs later in the day. "Sterling (Roberts) is a great coach and a better friend," explained Beckom II. "Going through hardships and ups and downs with track and field or school or life, I spent time talking to Roberts for hours in the office just working through a lot of different things."
From 2018-19 Beckom II became a TRIO Student Support Services mentor where he was tasked with mentoring 10 first-generation students and low-income students on campus.
Beckom II was also a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative at Eastern Michigan where he worked on the SAAC Diversity and Mental Health Committee and was chosen to be the EMU male representative for the MAC Mental Health Summit in Cleveland, Ohio.
With all of this success, Beckom II wants to give back. Being raised in Saginaw, he experienced life-altering hardships such as losing his father. However, rather than falling into a cycle of pain and depression, Beckom II broke the mold, as he explained "I understand that life hurts, but life does not stop for anybody...break those cycles of pain. You can do it because I've done it."
Beckom II's values of perseverance and helping others were instilled by his mother at a young age. "My mom always taught us to help others," said Beckom II. "It takes nothing out of your day to help express to others different ways to better their lives." This sentiment led to Beckom II's pursuit of mentorship and has ultimately created platforms for him to spread positive messages of diversifying oneself to succeed.
Beckom II's experiences being a mentor began in middle school where coaches Ricky Flowers and Donavon Hughes gave him opportunities to lead. "They put me in positions where I had to lead," explained Beckom II. "A lot of times in middle school and high school, I taught teammates how to run out of the blocks." As he became a seasoned veteran at EMU, he helped guide many of the younger members on the team. "Even within my college years, I was helping out Roberts with 'Hey do you want me to help them with this or that.'"
And now, Beckom II is sharing his knowledge and experiences with high school students in the Saginaw school district. His main three messages to students are: 1) diversify yourself, 2) connect with others, and 3) have confidence in yourself.
In regards to diversifying oneself, Beckom II believes that in order to maximize one's opportunities and potential, one can not have just one skill. As Beckom II outlined, "Don't just be an athlete, don't just be an artist, learn more." This sentiment pushed him to learn different skills such as Photoshop which he used to create posters for the track and field teams while at Eastern Michigan.
Beckom II also stresses the importance of connecting with others. People who don't reach out for help or don't try to help others, limit themselves without realizing it. In regards to academics, Beckom II reached great heights due to his connections with his professors. "Every professor at Eastern was very helpful to me," said Beckom II. "They always taught me something, they always helped me move forward, and if they didn't know anything, they'd push towards another professor."
Lastly, having confidence in yourself is another key talking point Beckom II wants to advertise. "I know I'm not the smartest in the room, I wasn't the fastest on the track, but I do very well for myself because of the confidence I have in myself and that I outwork everybody and have a very strong regiment," said Beckom II. "And I would like to preach that to a lot of other people because they may not feel they're the best at anything, but you can stand out being great at a lot of things."
For the success he has achieved, Beckom II would like to thank his communication mentor Dr. O'Grady, his psychology mentor Dr. Chow, the former Director of SASS Kellynn Wilson, the superintendent of Saginaw Public Schools Dr. Raymont M. Roberts, Principal Martha M. Fordham, coaches Ricky Flowers, Donavon Hughes, and Sterling Roberts, and his mother, Brenda Beckom, and sister, Loring Beckom.
For updates on all things Eastern Michigan cross country and track and field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram, @EMUXC_TF, and Twitter, @EMUXC_TF.
Players Mentioned
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