Ben Sherman
SENIOR / JONESBORO HIGH SCHOOL
CHI ST. VINCENT HEALTH AWARD, OUTSTANDING PLAYER: BOYS GOLF .............. 28
>> WHY HE WON
On a sound stage in 2009, Jonesboro resident Ben Sherman, then 8 years old, met one of the most famous men in the world.
For two hours, the man talked to Ben, told him jokes, told the world about Ben’s battle with leukemia and about the good work done for patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. The man was the late Robin Williams.
“He was the coolest guy ever,” Ben said. “He was just as funny off screen as he is on. I mean, the whole time — we were probably there for two or three hours filming a commercial — he was very funny and cracked a lot of jokes. At the same time, you could tell he was very caring and was doing it for a good purpose.”
After two years of chemotherapy at St. Jude, Ben, now 18 and a senior at Jonesboro High School, overcame his childhood leukemia to become an outstanding student and golfer. Ben even won the 2019-2020 Class 5A State tournament and helped his team take runner-up in the Class 5A Tournament. His accomplishments on the golf course and his inspirational perseverance through a childhood illness have earned him the title of the 2019-2020 All-Arkansas Preps Outstanding Player of the Year for Boys Golf and the CHI St. Vincent Health Award.
Ben said he was 6 years old when he started to have symptoms of fatigue and weight loss. His family doctor chalked it up to Ben being an active kid. His parents, Michael and Jackie Sherman, weren’t convinced and asked for a blood test and a chest X-ray. The X-ray revealed a tumor in Ben’s left lung.
Ben spent the next 2 1/2 years undergoing frequent chemotherapy treatments at St. Jude. The treatments left him weak, and Ben said he felt like he was missing out on life. Ben and his brothers, Brooks and Matt, are triplets, and they were getting ready to enter the first grade and start fall flag football.
“I was definitely down a little bit at first, but I kind of got over it,” he said. “I always felt like I was gonna be OK; I never had the thought I was going to die.”
Ben said the staff and facilities at St. Jude were amazing, and everything about the hospital was designed to make children and parents feel as comfortable as possible.
“As soon as you walk in, everyone has smiles on their faces,” he said.
Ben’s father, Mike Sherman, recalled when they first arrived at St. Jude and were sitting in the waiting room, and a maintenance man saw how scared they looked. The man walked up to Ben and asked him if he had his eyes yet. Ben was unsure and asked what he meant. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a little plastic ring and put it on Ben’s finger. The ring had little eyeballs on it.
“Ben got a little smile out of it,” Mike said. “That told me that everyone down to
MY first, GOAL to win FOR state SENIOR with the YEAR team, WAS, and then win overall player of the year.” — Ben Sherman, CHI ST.VINCENT HEALTH AWARD RECIPIENT
AND OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR BOYS GOLF
the maintenance man is stopping what they’re doing to make these kids feel better in any way they can.”
“St. Jude really cared for us and did a fantastic job,” Jackie said.
Because the family lives so close to St. Jude, Ben was able to help the hospital with fundraisers and public relations.
“They saved my life, so however I can pay them back, I wanted to,” he said.
Robin Williams had been a longtime supporter of St. Jude and made frequent appearances at fundraisers and events for the hospital. Williams even appeared in a series of commercials for the hospital, along with several of the patients who were undergoing treatment. That’s when Ben and his family were flown to San Francisco to meet the actor. Ben said Williams was kind, attentive and very funny.
“CHI St. Vincent is excited to announce Ben Sherman as the CHI St. Vincent Health Award winner for 2020,” said Chad Aduddell, CEO of CHI St. Vincent in Little Rock. “Ben is an accomplished golfer and, as a senior at Jonesboro High School, was named Outstanding Golfer of the Year. Ben’s inspirational story is one of perseverance, dedication and resiliency, and we are honored to recognize him for this year’s award.”
Sherman was always into sports, and when he was younger, he really enjoyed playing baseball. At around the age of 12, though, he and some friends started playing golf. He said he fell in love with the idea of competing in an individual sport, so he put his efforts into golf.
He’s grown into quite an accomplished player. This season, he fired an even-par 72 in the Class 5A State Tournament at Jonesboro High School and clinched the boys overall tournament at the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock to win the tournament by four strokes. Sherman shot three birdies on the back nine holes to claim his victory. Another even-par performance at the Class 5A State Tournament helped his team take runner-up honors at the Glenwood Country Club in Glenwood.
“For me individually, it was a good season,” he said. “I played well all year. I was a little disappointed in conference — I wanted to win those — but I played well.”
One of his strengths on the course is consistency, said Blake Mackey, Jonesboro High School boys golf coach.
“He doesn’t change a lot,” Mackey said. “He’s really good at playing the next shot and playing the next hole and not getting hung up on where he stands.
In school, Sherman has a 4.0 grade-point average and enjoys studying history. He is also in Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society; the National Honor Society; and the Student Council. Through the Student Council, he volunteers to clean up highways, and every Friday, the group mentors kindergarten students.
After high school, Sherman plans to attend the University of Arkansas to study business and finance. He said he won’t be playing golf for the school so he can focus on his studies and get back to playing for fun.
“I think it kind of puts your life in perspective that, you know, nothing is too big,” he said. “I feel like I have more fun with sports now that it is, at the end of the day — it’s a game. It’s all for fun.”
Sherman said that after his experience with leukemia and seeing what other children go through for treatment, he feels like he is able to keep a good perspective on life and the game of golf.