The Department of Educational Equity Inclusion and Diversity is on week three of their event “Where Are They Now? Conversation with an Alcornite”. This event, which will continue to be held weekly, was held on Thursday, February 25, 2021 via Zoom.
This ongoing series is designed to help students by inviting Alcorn State University (ASU) alumni to come and give them advice about post grad life. The guest speakers for week three of this event were Dr. Robert White, DDS and his wife Dr. Javonne White, DDS.
Dr. Robert White is a native of Natchez, Mississippi and a 1994 graduate of Alcorn. His wife, Dr. Javonne White, is a Charlotte, North Carolina native and graduate of Spelman College. They met at Meharry Medical College where they attended and graduated with their Doctorates in Dentistry. As of now, they have owned their own dental and orthodontists’ practice located in Atlanta, Georgia for the past 20 years.
During the event, they offered advice to students by answering questions given to them by the Director of the Department, Lljuna Weir. The guest speakers gave advice to students to never give up and to get as much experience at Alcorn that they can. Dr. Robert White told students that Alcorn helped prepare him for life by being such a great family atmosphere. Dr. Javonne White added to her husband’s comments by stating that, “An HBCU experience is like no other because it makes you think outside of the box.”
The two also gave advice to students about how they can handle post graduate life. They advised that students keep volunteering and taking some sort of educational courses to gain more experience in their field. Dr. Javonne White told students that to make it in your career you need to have professionalism, be able to adapt to different situations, have commitment, and dedication. Dr. Robert White added on to his wife’s comments by saying that, “Students should be driven in what they want to do and that they should clearly have their goals set. At the end of the day, the key thing to have is patience. Everything will not be roses but keep fighting the fight and have patience that you will get to where you want to be eventually.”
The guest speakers concluded their segment by informing guests that among all of their success, their proudest accomplishment is their four children who will always be first in their lives.
The Department of Educational Equity Inclusion and Diversity will continue to host the “Where Are They Now? Conversation with an Alcornite” event. “This event is a great idea because it connects students with alumni who came to Alcorn and made something of themselves,” said Dr. Tracy Cook, Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.