Fred Dauphin graduated with a degree in astrophysics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2020. The outdoor track and field program’s record-holder in the triple jump, he earned UAA All-Association honors three times, including a runner-up finish in the triple jump in the 2020 UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the last meet he competed in before COVID-19 ended the remainder of his senior season.

The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.

Standing Out in White Spaces

“I am consistently one of the only Black people in any space I am in. It is profound to walk into a room when no one else looks like you. The prevalent effects of that puts a weird weight on your shoulders, as if you are representing your race and/or the place you come from,” Dauphin stated. “I was one of few Black people studying physics at Carnegie Mellon. There was only a scattering of Black people surrounded by mostly white people in my classes.”

That factor added pressure to his already strong intrinsic motivation to succeed academically. “The most dominant factor is feeling like you are presenting something different from what people have seen in the media or from stereotypes they hold. A lot of people were surprised by my academic success. They realized I wasn’t just there to compete in a sport,” he noted. “Being one of the only Black people really helped pushed me to do my best, not just for myself, but for others who think I represent all Black people.”

He believes it is important to act with grace toward others. “You never know what someone else’s experiences from the past may be. It is possible that in the 18 years before someone came to Carnegie Mellon, they may never have interacted with someone who looks like me,” he remarked. “How you portray yourself may be very different from what they learned in their hometown or school. If you stand outside of that previous mindset, they can start to think about race in a different way.”

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