The Editorial Staff is excited to announce that Sam Benedict ’25 has been selected to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of The Bachelor for the 2023- 2024 volume.
“I’m pumped,” Benedict said. “The Bachelor was one of the first groups on campus that I was a part of. It was something that really meant a lot to me. I came down [to the office] as a freshman, and I immediately felt like I was part of the team,” Benedict said. “Now, to be able to lead that team, and to pay it forward—it’s awesome.”
Benedict has written for all sections of the paper, bringing clear analysis and sharp wit. One of Benedict’s favorite stories he wrote was an account of his oh-so-dangerous trip to Greencastle to interview Dannies ahead of the Monon Bell Game.
“The experience of traveling to DePauw’s campus during Bell week, interviewing students at random and walking into fraternities and sororities was incredible,” Benedict said. “Writing the article afterwards was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a piece. Liam Grennon ’24 and I have some fun stories interacting with DePauw students that are easily a highlight of my Wabash career.”
Since joining the staff as a freshman, Benedict has served as Features Editor and News Editor. His successes and frustrations have more than prepared him for his coming role as Editor-in-Chief.
“Being an editor this year has allowed me to work with younger writers and develop their skills,” said Benedict. “Seeing the prog- ress that each writer has made over the course of the year has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve gotten to know the entirety of The Bachelor team and really developed close relationships, which has led to an incredible community that I’m glad to be a part of.”
All of these experiences have shaped Benedict as a leader, helping him determine his priorities.
“Working for The Bachelor has exposed me to the importance of leading by example,” Benedict said. “It’s easy to delegate and ask others to take the workload, but watching our senior leaders get their hands dirty, and, at times, carry us forward, has shown me the value in being the hardest working person in the room as a leader. It forces everyone else to work harder and creates a greater sense of brotherhood that is invaluable in the long run. Creating a healthy, strong culture is necessary for success—and I believe it happens when leaders lead by example.”
“Sam [Benedict] is a coalition builder,” said Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Eric Dunaway, Benedict’s academic advisor. “He sees guys on the outside of the group and finds ways to bring them in. A leader is a person who can take the abilities of many individuals and create something that is greater than the sum of their individual parts. Sam exhibits this, and I am excited to see where he takes The Bachelor after its excellent run these past few years.”
Benedict plans to continue many of the themes of the current volume of The Bachelor while recentering the paper’s identity as a local, campus-oriented paper.
“One of the things that I really want to focus on is creating a Wabash-centric issue of The Bachelor, one where we focus a lot on what’s happening at Wabash itself,” Benedict said. “That’s what students care about most—sure, they want to read about politics and national events—but I think there are plenty of Wabash events, ideas and news that we should focus on.”
Beyond serving as News Editor for The Bachelor, Benedict is highly involved on campus. The FIJI brother is a pitcher on the baseball team, a CIBE consultant and the Student Senate’s Student Events Committee Chairman. A political science major and history minor, Benedict is currently considering law school for his post-Wabash endeavors.
“Sam [Benedict] is a student-athlete who has really taken advantage of all that Wabash has to offer,” said Head Baseball Coach Jake Martin ’03. “He has worked hard to develop his craft on the baseball field, while balancing several leadership roles on campus. I’m excited to watch his growth as a leader on campus, as a member of the baseball team and as Editor-in- Chief.”