Rhodes Scholar Shad White speaks to Jones Honors College Students

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Photo/Kelly Atwood, JCJC Public Relations

October 6, 2009

By Kelly Atwood, JCJC Media Relations The Laurel Leader-Call Tue Oct 06, 2009, 11:06 AM CDT

Rhodes Scholar Shad White recently shared his success stories with students from the Jones County Junior College Charles Pickering Honors Institute.

The Northeast Jones and Ole Miss graduate will go to Oxford, England as a Rhodes Scholar, where he will attend St. Johns College. Out of the thousands who apply annually, only 32 Rhodes Scholars are chosen in the U.S.

White shared his success stories with Jones students, encouraging them to get involved in college life. It was his involvement in College Republicans and the Student Government Association that encouraged him to run for and win the position of Student Body Treasurer at Ole Miss.

He also encouraged the Honors students to find topics that interest them, sharing the example that his campaign platform for Student Body Treasurer was based on the creation of a textbook policy aimed to reduce textbook costs.

After he was elected, White and a group of students presented a 35-page report on text book policy to the university Chancellor. White was eventually named to a task force that is currently working on a statewide initiative to change the textbook policy at colleges and universities.

“It was the first time in my life I felt like I did something that would make a difference,” he said.

He also told students to not get discouraged when things don’t work out the way they had planned. He gave the example of running for Student Body President and losing the election by 36 votes.

“The loss opened a lot of doors for me on campus and gave me some free time.”

He used that time to work at the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. He also had more time to dedicate toward his senior thesis, which helped him get a job with the Department of Education in Washington. And, he worked on educational issues for a Washington think tank.

White also encouraged students to apply for scholarships, even if they seem only remotely possible. He applied for and won the Truman Scholarship, a national scholarship for people who are juniors in college and are interested in public service.

After applying for the Rhodes scholarship, he saw that the some of the finalists had attended prestigious colleges such as Princeton, Yale and Stanford. He felt that his background, which some might perceive as a disadvantage, was actually an advantage: coming from a public school in a rural town in Mississippi and having an interest in wanting to make schools better made his story compelling.

“On reflection, the Rhodes scholarship is difficult to win, but it’s not impossible,” he said. While encouraging students to apply for scholarships, he told them “Be aggressive about everything you’re doing from now on.”

White, who majored in both economics and political science at Ole Miss, is considering law school at a university such as Harvard, Yale or Stanford. He would ultimately like to return to Mississippi to work to improve education.

Dr. Mark Taylor, dean of the Charles Pickering Honors Institute, said Shad White is a great example for our students. I am hopeful that they will look at him, hear his story, and have a desire to do something special with their lives just as he has tried to do with his. The fact that they may be from a small town in rural south Mississippi, like Shad who is from Sandersville, should not deter them from attempting things that many may think are impossible.