ALANA WINGATE
Staff Writer
Education, culture and family are the first elements you’ll notice when entering David White’s office. Black cultural representation in the form of art, numerous frames filled with family photos and higher education, fill the walls and shelves of White’s office.
White is the previous Director of EDP (educational development program) and is currently the Director of Multicultural Support Services. Over the past 17 years, White has been a part of the SUNY Fredonia community where he helps provide guidance and assistance to students. White was raised in a two-parent household that valued higher education. Due to his parents’ educational backgrounds and the fact that he was lucky to grow up in a cozy household, White today sees himself as having a privileged background.
“I felt blessed. I felt loved. I felt appreciated,” said White.
Growing up, White dreamed of being a professional athlete.
“I wanted to be a football player, I was pretty good and athletic… I was pretty good in all the sports, but obviously a stronger passion for football,” White said. “I could run, I could catch — I could do it all.”
Throughout the course of his three NFL seasons (1993, 1995 and 1996), White played linebacker for the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. From 1998 through 2005, he also played linebacker and fullback with the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm and Buffalo Destroyers, respectively.
“I was a big Earl Campbell fan. He was a running back for the Houston Oilers, and I just love the way Earl Campbell ran that ball. I was a New Orleans Saints fan, but I was a Houston fan too, just [because] of Earl Campbell,” White said. “I was a bigger kid. So, I really admired Earl Campbell. In fact, I wore number 34 when I played arena ball here a couple of years ago.”
Aside from the famous football star, White also idolized the first Black man to run for president, Jesse Jackson.
“Jesse was always in the news, speaking of, operation push, civil rights and things of that nature and I remember seeing a picture of Jesse Jackson with Martin Luther King and it was like, wow,” White said.
White stated that in addition to the famous people he admired, his grandfather (who he refers to as Pops) and father were also among his list of heroes. He expressed his gratitude for the role models in his life, noting that he was incredibly blessed.
“Pops then of course, my dad [were] always there supporting me,” White said. “I was blessed in those regards to [having] strong male figures in my life growing up.”
White, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a minor in sociology/psychology, went on to earn a master’s degree in student personnel administration from Buffalo State University.
Following his professional athletic occupation, White traded in his football cleats for a career in education.
“I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame — if not longer. I truly feel blessed, so my thing is to give back,” said White. “To throw the rope back, to give back, and help someone else, [have] if not the same amount of success, but more success than I had. If I do that, then maybe they’ll turn around and throw the road back and lift as they climb as well.”
Black Student Union Fashion Show chair ’23 Sangai Keita, a senior public relations & political science major, said that White had a variety of influences on her.
“Mr. White has motivated me in many ways. … I remember last spring he took a couple of students to the theatre out in Buffalo to watch the play ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’” Keita said. “I had only been to one play in my entire [life] and that was Mary Poppins back in the fifth grade. Attending that trip with other great students made me realize the beauty of plays and how it can send such a strong message.”
White said that although he believes that his kids would characterize him as demanding at home, he believes that his students would view him as someone always willing to provide a helping hand.
“I would hope students would describe me as helpful and maybe motivating,” White said. “If they want to be an ‘A’ student, an exceptional student, an engaging student and have an amazing experience, then I would help them do that.”
Keita shared that in her struggles throughout the semester, White and his other known associates have been more than a big help.
“Well, currently I am the fashion show chair for BSU, and I constantly have struggled throughout the semester and last semester. But Mr. White, including other faculty members such as Khristian King, has been very encouraging and supportive [in] helping me out and staying organized,” Keita said. “In times where I felt very low, they both encouraged me and showered me with compliments about my work ethic and that means a lot coming from people who are constantly working and having meetings back to back. That is a way of keeping me [pushing] past my limits and [accomplishing] anything.”
If there was one thing that White hoped to achieve, it would be to continue to make a difference in students’ lives.
“[I want to] help them reach their potential, and maybe help them see something that they didn’t see in themselves,” White said. “While at the same time challenging students [and] pushing students to achieve their potential. That’s, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s all about for me.”