A 2019 Duke alum and former Wrestling team member, Brandon Leynaud sees how wrestling contributed to his own personal and professional development. Participating in ACE in China in the summer of 2017 gave Leynaud the opportunity to take his athletic training beyond the wrestling mat. Now, five years later, Leynaud shares some of the valuable, lasting lessons from ACE in problem solving, diversity, and teamwork.
What are you doing now? How did ACE influence your career?
Currently, I moved and have been living in Dallas, Texas, working as a supply chain coordinator since graduating in 2019. ACE played a big part in how I ended up in Dallas. I’m originally from a small town in Ohio and after my time with ACE I knew I wanted to move somewhere new and see more of the world. One of my bigger plans Is to in the next 2-3 years move overseas for a year or so to work abroad to see and experience more of the world.
What was the most meaningful part of your ACE experience?
ACE expanded my ability to implement the skills I learned through wrestling outside of training and competition. I was able to appreciate the lessons and habits I acquired from wrestling and use them to contribute to my ACE team.
“ACE expanded my ability to implement the skills I learned through wrestling outside of training and competition.”
– Brandon Leynaud, ACE in China 2017
While running the camp, we ran into several situations where I related the problems to wrestling in order to solve them. This led me to think more clearly to deescalate problems as they arose and work to find the best way to approach them. This was something that I found others in the program doing as well and when we would have our group meetings something we would discuss often. ACE allowed me to find a whole new appreciation for wrestling and how it has developed me as a person.
Share a lesson you learned from your ACE experience that still holds true today:
One of the most impactful lessons I took away from my time in China was everything I learned from the many amazing people I met throughout the program. Specifically, the impact that diversity has on teamwork and problem-solving. I was able to build friendships with a whole array of fellow student-athletes from Duke and Stanford as well as the staff at ACE and CERS during my trip and was able to learn how each person brought something unique and beneficial to the program.
“Being placed in a position where I got to experience first-hand how diversity made solving problems more efficient and meaningful as there was always someone who saw each situation from a different perspective.”
– Brandon Leynaud, ACE in China 2017
Being placed in a position where I got to experience first-hand how diversity made solving problems more efficient and meaningful as there was always someone who saw each situation from a different perspective. We were able to complement each person’s strengths and support what we lacked individually. This was one lesson I think about regularly and make sure to keep in mind when working in teams today.
Describe your ACE experience in as few words as possible:
Life changing!
What’s one thing you want people to know about ACE?
ACE was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life and such an amazing opportunity student-athletes at Duke and Stanford are given a chance to be apart of.
What’s your hope for the future of ACE? What advice do you have for future ACE participants?
I hope that every student-athlete at Duke makes an effort to apply and be part of such a life changing program and that ACE continues to grow and reach more places and people!