Theo Blair

It’s hard for Theo Blair to choose just one highlight of their time at Virginia Tech. It might be playing piccolo for the Marching Virginians and the Virginia Tech Pep Band. It might be serving as residential well-being student leader in the Studio 72 living-learning community. Or it might be the excitement of that first semester neuroscience lab with Dr. Fu, when they saw the actual axons of neurons in the brain.  

But it might also be a moment Theo’s nominator described. He said, “My earliest memory of Theo Blair is seeing them sing their favorite Phoebe Bridgers song at a Studio 72 open mic’ night. I remember this new student shyly stepping up to the microphone, softly introducing the song they were going to sing, taking a step back, waiting for the music to play, and then this VOICE came out. The whole room went wild!”

He went on to say, “Theo is approachable, energetic, and unmistakable. Their bright blue eyes and colorful hair are the first things you'll notice, but it’s the invisible qualities they possess that I admire most. Theo is authentic, transparent, reasonable, humble, good-humored, mature, and can switch seamlessly between a conversation that is light-hearted in nature to one that is more serious, more meaningful, and more nuanced.

“Witnessing Theo become a confident, self-aware leader has been an absolute pleasure. In an everyday way, Theo is a courageous leader who uses their voice, not only to sing, but to bring others along. They're the kind of leader we all can learn something from.”

In 2017, when Theo was 15 years old, they attended the Women’s March on Washington, D.C. They said, “It made me believe in the power of protest and the power of people uniting, and it deepened my desire to help social and political advocacy.

“I care very deeply for the LGBTQ+ community. I believe that anyone should be able to express their own identities as they please. I have also dealt with anxiety disorders, and I am a huge advocate for anyone struggling with their mental health. Lastly, I grew up right outside of Baltimore and learned a lot about past and present issues of racism. It makes me very conscientious about what I can do to be anti-racist and help educate others.”

Theo said, “To me, courageous leadership is continuous acts of selfless, bold, and kind conduct. Being a leader is difficult, and being a courageous leader is even more so. However, the rewards and outcomes of being this kind of person are likely more beneficial to our communities than we can ever imagine.” 

A recipient of the Provost Achievement Scholarship, Theo is majoring in Clinical Neuroscience with a minor in Visual Arts and Society and would like to work in the medical field. Theo said, “I would love to be able to combine neuroscience and visual arts to increase understanding and empathy for one another, especially in these times when it feels like there’s so much dividing all of us.”

I am honored to present the Aspire! Award for PREPARE FOR A LIFE OF COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP to Theo Blair.