Dr. Benedict was born in Newburgh, New York and raised in the Newburgh area.  He is a graduate of Cornwall Central High School which now is a middle school that is right down the street from the high school from which President Trump graduated.  Dr. Benedict served eight years in the US Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom...he was at a staging area in Kuwait three weeks before the invasion.  As a student at Mount Saint Mary College, Dr. Benedict was an intern for New York State Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun and for the United States Senate Republican Policy Committee in Washington, DC.

After graduating from Mount Saint Mary College with a BA in Public Relations, Dr. Benedict began his military service, only leaving after eight years to tend to his son who has disabilities.  He was hired by the Richmond County School System in 2004 and soon returned to school; Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where he received a MEd in Special Education.  From there, he attended The University of Georgia where he received an EdS in Educational Psychology, Applied Cognition and Development.  After six years of not being a formal student, Dr. Benedict went to Georgia Regents University, now Augusta University to pursue an MPA that he received in December 2016.  He returned to Liberty University to pursue an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction, Special Education that was awarded in March 2025.