Read A 1969 Interview With Aspiring Psych Major Ben Carson

“I’d like to work with people, to study them closely so I can help them to see themselves as they really are and help them rid themselves of their follies.”

Longer before he was a world famous neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson was a high-achieving high school graduate from Detroit with his eyes set on a psychology degree from Yale.

An article that ran on June 21, 1969 in the Michigan Chronicle, an African-American newspaper in Detroit, offers a glimpse at Carson before the fame.

In the article, Carson explains his decision to attend Yale (the school's "competitive spirit") and talks about his hope to study psychology at Yale.

"I'd like to work with people, to study them closely so I can help them to see themselves as they really are and help them rid themselves of their follies," Carson says in the article.

Listed in the article are Carson's many accolades and accomplishments, including several ROTC awards, a science award, and National Honor Society membership, and involvement with several other school organizations.

The article also notes that Carson like to play chess and listen to "classical or rock music."

Copies of the Chronicle archived at Baruch University in New York City, also offer several other articles on Carson. One mentions his induction in the National Honor Society along with several others, and another notes his acceptance at Yale.

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