Who Are Ben Carson's Children?

Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson certainly caught attention at Thursday's prime-time GOP debate, thanks to his humorous approach and his interesting past, from which he drew anecdotes. Outside of his fascinating medical career, which involved separating conjoined twins and developing pioneering software for surgeries, the presidential hopeful happens to have an equally fascinating family. He married his wife, professional violinist Candy Carson, in 1975, and Ben Carson had three sons with her: Rhoeyce, Ben, Jr., and Murray. All three of Carson's sons, who have been relatively quiet about their father's increasingly momentous bid for the presidency, are currently working some impressive careers, according to their LinkedIn accounts.

Carson's oldest, Rhoeyce, graduated from the University of Delaware in 2008, and went on to attend Stevenson University from 2008 until 2011. Rhoeyce Carson has been an associate at CliftonLarsonAllen in Baltimore, the 10th-largest accountancy firm in the United States. Rhoeyce appears to have a strong background in financial accounting and auditing, and is a recognized CPA. With his seasoned perspective on finance and taxation, Rhoeyce could certainly offer guidance on the economy to his father, whose lack of a background in politics could potentially make his approach to the economy a weak spot.

Carson's second son, Ben, Jr., also known as "BJ," is vice president at the Warner Companies, with a background in investment management, according to his LinkedIn profile. BJ has also worked as a financial adviser at Prudential and as an account executive at Oce. IMDb also credits BJ with a minor role in the 2003 film Stuck On You as a "Hospital Waiting Room Patient." He studied at Tufts University from 2003 to 2007, and earned a Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology and Entrepreneurial Leadership. His skills and experience in strategic skills and team-building, both listed on his LinkedIn profile, could certainly be a credit to his father's campaign.

Murray Carson, the youngest, has a Master's of Science in Applied Information Technology from Towson University, and earned a Bachelor's of Science from Yale in Mechanical Engineering. On his LinkedIn profile, Murray describes himself as an "innovative, incentivizing problem-solver who leads by example." Murray worked as a mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin from 2003 until 2007, and as an analyst at BDMetrics for a year. He also speaks fluent Spanish and, interestingly enough, has "elementary proficiency" with Korean. He certainly appears to be the most adventurous of the three, listing "creative writing" and "public speaking" among his top skills. Ben Carson himself pursued public speaking, and earned thousands from it.

A poll following the GOP debate on Thursday found that a substantial 22 percent of Republicans recognized Ben Carson as the winner. His performance was certainly more memorable than Jeb Bush's standard-if-not-bland delivery, and more appealing than current frontrunner Donald Trump's brash self-obsession. The fact that Carson has managed to stake his place in the GOP top 10 without a formal background in politics is certainly impressive, and marks him a serious contender in the chaotic race for the presidential nomination. More involvement from his impressive sons might just give the presidential hopeful's campaign the extra boost it needs.

Image: Academy of Achievement