|
|
|
|
|
| Realizing a Dream African American alumni recall Drake experiences and reflect on success. BY MICHELLE RUBIN As African American alumni across the country prepare to gather for an all-class reunion in Chicago this October, memories of their days at Drake are no doubt resurfacing. From Relays and skip days to civil rights marches and black-power poetry, each student's individual experience at Drake has played a role in his or her future. We recently asked a few alumni of color to reflect on their experiences at Drake and the impact the University has had on their lives. Johnny C. Taylor: 'No excuse to fail'  While studying at Drake Law School, Johnny C. Taylor, GR'90, LW'92, knew he wanted
to be general counsel of a multibilliondollar company. So
he developed a plan, worked hard and focused
on his goal.But what he didn't plan on was accomplishing that goal so quickly. Almost exactly 10 years after graduating from Drake, Taylor became general counsel of the North American division of Compass Group, a multibilliondollar food services corporation. It's a job that typically takes 20-plus years in the field to land. As general counsel, senior vice president and secretary, Taylor runs the company's real estate, legal and administrative services departments, overseeing all of the company's legal matters. "This is the job I thought I would retire at," Taylor says. Taylor says he has achieved his success by staying true to his strategic plan. "As much as I think about my client's strategy, I've worked on my own personal strategy," he says. "I jokingly refer to it as 'Johnny Taylor Inc.' I'm the CEO of my company, and so I've had to focus on my career development and really work to nurture my career." Originally from Florida, Taylor was recruited to Drake by Susan Unkrich, who was the director of recruitment and financial aid for the Law School at the time, and then-Associate Dean Russell Lovell. Taylor says he isn't sure how they did it, but they persuaded him to choose Drake over the University of Virginia, Florida State and Stanford. "I had a phenomenal experience at Drake," Taylor says. "I am from South Florida, which is truly a melting pot, so it was clearly unique for me to move to Iowa where I was not just a minority, but I was a superminority." Taylor laughs when he recalls his biggest adjustment (aside from the cold winters): finding hair products. "I called my mom two weeks after being there and said, 'I cannot find hair products.' So my mother ended up shipping hair products from Florida." And though Des Moines was somewhat of a culture shock for Taylor, he recalls that the community made him feel welcomed. "The people in Iowa, particularly in Des Moines, were so nice and so welcoming, and the student body was so welcoming; that offset any of the negative. I had a fabulous experience." After graduating from Drake, Taylor returned to Florida, where he joined the Miami office of Steel, Hector & Davis. It was there that he used the research skills he acquired at Drake to distinguish himself from the 30 other first-year associates at the firm. "I got a lot of really good, practical information at Drake that helped me," Taylor says. "We always joked about how difficult the research and writing program was at Drake Law School. For a one-credit course, you'd spend as much time as you would for the rest of the courses together. With the effort I had to put into the course work, that set the tone, and I am consistently ranked an excellent researcher and a great writer. My reputation has been, if you need to find something, no matter how odd or obscure it is, I'll find it. I attribute that in no small part to the Drake Law School." After a few years in private practice, Taylor moved on to work in-house for Blockbuster Entertainment, Alamo Rent-A-Car and Paramount Pictures' theme park and live entertainment division, Paramount Parks, which allowed him to be more proactive than when working with clients as part of a firm. "In a law firm," Taylor explains, "I found the client would bring me in when they had a problem and they wanted me to fix it. The client would spend a lot of money and I'd fix their problem - or try - and then I'd go away and they'd call me again when they had another problem. In the in-house department, you're a part of the company, so you can do a lot more proactive legal practice and prevent problems as opposed to responding to problems. And I really like that. You feel like you're a part of a team. When I was at a law firm, I worked with 10 or 12 different companies at one time. It's really nice to have one captive client." Last year, Taylor married Charlotte Smith, who plays for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting and in the off-season is assistant women's basketball coach for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Not surprisingly, Taylor lists basketball as one of his off-the-job interests. Taylor also is heavily involved in community service, having been general counsel for the United Way of Broward County, Fla., president-elect of the Urban League of Broward County and co-chair of Johnson C. Smith University's 2000 United Negro College Fund annual campaign. Currently living in Charlotte, NC, Taylor is a member of the board of directors of the Society for Human Resource Management and the University of Miami President's Council. "There's a saying that I like that is, 'To those for whom much is given, much is expected,'" Taylor says. "I've been blessed in so many ways. I know I have an obligation not just to focus on my career but to give back, because I've been a product of so many organizations and people who helped me along the way." Taylor attributes much of his drive and his penchant for community service to his grandfather Von D. Mizell, a pioneering black doctor in Broward County. Today there is a library named after his grandfather in the community, but at the high point of his career, racism was strong in the South. Though Mizell died when Taylor was young, "He would always say to me, 'Listen, son, I became a doctor in the South when segregation was going against us, when civil liberties were unheard of, so if I could do it, you clearly can do it.' It instilled in me that failure was not an option. Something I would always remember. That really resonated with me through school. Anytime I became frustrated in life, I'd think of him and remind myself that if this guy could do this with all of the stuff associated with the South's ugly history, then you know what? There's really no excuse for me to fail." Eleanora E. Tate: 'Messages to share with the world'  Eleanora E. Tate, JO'73, still remembers the first short story she wrote. She
was in third grade, growing up in Canton, MO, and an overload of apple butter
sandwiches caused
a vivid nightmare."When I woke up and realized that I was still alive, praise the Lord, I told myself that when I got to my school - by then I was in the integrated school district - I would write my nightmare down," Tate says. And from that experience came Tate's first story. She still remembers using brown paper from a Big Chief writing tablet with blue lines, and a big pencil. "Then I was able to read it back," she says, "and here was a product, it was an experience of mine that was authentic. I enjoyed the fact that people could put pen or pencil to paper and other people would want to read it. And I felt I had messages to share with the world." Tate went on to realize her dream of being a writer. She has published 10 children's books, with two more in the works, and has won numerous awards for her work in children's literature. Her latest book, To Be Free, chronicles the journey to freedom of a teenage slave embarking on the Maritime Underground Railroad, a subject not often explored in literature. And though it all began with that first nightmare story, Tate's love for reading got a boost when she was 13 and moved to Des Moines, where she discovered its public library. As a teenager, Tate would walk to the branch of the Des Moines Public Library then located in the Drake neighborhood at 24th and University. She would check out books at the library, go over to Drake Park, read them all, then go back for more. "I have a long history of having a love affair with reading, writing and books that continues to this day," she admits. As a student at Roosevelt High School, Tate learned a lot about her writing. "I found that what one wrote could make a difference. What one wrote could move people emotionally. What one wrote could get you arrested if you wrote what some people felt was the wrong thing," she says. Eventually, Tate started working at the Iowa Bystander as the news editor. Then she received the first full minority scholarship awarded by The Des Moines Register and Tribune newspapers and started going to Drake as a news/ editorial major in the journalism school. As part of the scholarship, Tate had an internship at the Register and Tribune. She started out writing articles for what was then called the "women's section." Then she moved over to the news side, writing obituaries, weather and police reports, and feature articles. "I was just so grateful to have the chance to go to college. I loved school, and going to college had been my mission since I was a little girl," she says. It was in her first-year composition class that Tate began reading more African American authors' works. The professor was white, but "I was able to get a new perspective by reading those books and agreeing with or disagreeing with what he said about them. And he respected my writing," she says. Drake also gave her the opportunity to expand on her poetry. The editor of the student magazine Veritas published some of Tate's poems and chose her to receive the Veritas Magazine Award for her writing. "When you get that sort of a push that you actually have won something, it makes you feel that you are worth something and gives you inspiration to go on," she says. Tate didn't always want to be a children's book author. "I wanted to write for adults. I wanted to start with the sex on Page 1," she confides. "I still do, but you can't do that in kids' books." An Iowa Arts Council program got Tate interested in writing for children. In the late '60s the council was just getting started and had launched a pilot program to send writers into schools to work with students. Tate was one of the first writers in the program. At the time, she was writing Black pride and Black-power poetry. "I was going to be a hellacious poet," Tate says, adding that some of the poems she wrote back then "were halfway decent, too." The more she went into the schools, "The more I found there were virtually no short stories or books that were realistically portraying African American youngsters, and fewer written by African American writers. So I began pursuing this angle." Tate's books are for kids from 3rd to 7th grade, as well as for reluctant readers in middle school, as well as high school students with reading problems. Her work is well-suited for a variety of age groups, because the subject matter involves real issues that face young people. "The characters I develop are based on people I know or are composites of people I know," Tate says. "The stories are about how they reconcile issues to reach a better understanding, so that a young reader might be able to resonate with the characters and relate the story to his or her own situation. Some experts say it's didactic, but I don't give a damn. As long as publishers and editors support me, that's what I'll continue to do." Tate says she's faced a lot of criticism throughout her career, including being discouraged from being a writer because it wasn't a "real job." "People just don't realize the hours of research that goes into writing, the discipline and persistence involved." Tate is committed to writing two more children's books and then wants to publish a few adult books. The pay is much better, and she now has some name recognition with her success in children's literature. "No matter what genre, good writing is good writing," she says. "You have to ply your craft with every word you write. You can't write down to children, and you can't write down to adults. It takes a lot of study, and a lot of people just don't do their homework." Tate does her homework, however, and has a number of awards to show for it. She received a national Zora Neale Hurston Award, the highest award given by the National Association of Black Storytellers. Among the honors awarded her books is the Parent's Choice Gold Seal Award and a nomination for the California Young Reader Medal garnered by her book The Secret of Gumbo Grove. Tate lives in North Carolina with her husband, Zack Hamlett III, who is a photographer. She gets back to visit her family in Des Moines occasionally and visited last April to appear in the Des Moines Public Library's AViD Authors series. "I think I've had a wonderful career," Tate says. "I haven't made money like J.K. Rowling, but most writers, no matter what their genre, have not had that sort of phenomenal success, either. I'm pleased with my writing, pleased with my books, and I'm glad that I've stuck to my guns, mapped out my career the way that I wanted it and not relied on what somebody else told me to write. Give all praise to the good Lord for giving me the talent to do that!" Wanda Everage: 'Part of the solution'  She never planned to come back to Drake University. In fact, when she graduated,
she vowed not to set foot on campus. She'd had a rough time dealing with racism
as a student, and the experience caused her to feel angry and resentful toward
the University. So Wanda Everage, LA'72, kept her promise and stayed away from
campus - even though she lived in the area and worked at the Des Moines Independent
Community School District - for 16 years. But in 1988 Everage broke her vow and returned to help then-Interim Provost Jon Ericson address student-retention issues. Though she initially planned to stay for only a year, 15 years later she's still here, working daily with Drake students as the vice provost for student affairs and academic excellence. And for many students, Everage's struggle at Drake has meant a better experience for them. The woman who once hated the University "with a passion" has become a favorite advocate among students, as she works to empower and motivate them. "Coming back to Drake, because of those experiences I had as a student, I feel so strongly about the importance of paying attention to what happens to a student outside of the classroom," Everage says. For instance, Everage started a peer mentor program that was inspired by four upperclasswomen who helped her when she was a new student on campus. Everage remembered how important it was to have that support when she needed it. As a student, Everage's battles with racism included a professor who didn't think "Negroes,"as he called black students, belonged in the classroom. As difficult as it was, Everage showed up to every class session, sat in the front row and came prepared to answer whatever questions he asked, even though he wouldn't call on her. In the end, he gave her an "A" and told her that though his views on African Americans hadn't changed, she had earned the grade. She now uses that story to show current students that even though it's still sometimes difficult to be a student of color on a predominantly white campus, previous generations have made some strides. "I ask them, 'What kind of path are you going to make for those coming along behind you? ... Not everyone has the opportunities that you do, and you may make an impact you might not see right away, but some little kid may be looking at you going to Drake and think that if you can do it, maybe he can, too.' We don't see enough of those kinds of role models." Looking back on her college experience, Everage reflects that it was just a few individuals who made her life miserable, causing resentment that she now calls "a waste of emotion." And despite her struggles, Everage says that if she had it all to do again, "I wouldn't change a thing. That's how I developed, what's made me who I am today." It is perhaps that positive attitude, as well as her perseverance and commitment to community service, that have garnered Everage a number of awards. In 2002, Everage was named a "Visionary Woman" by the Young Women's Resource Center, a nonprofit organization in Des Moines, and honored as a Woman of Achievement by the YWCA of Greater Des Moines. As a Drake staff member, Everage was presented the Donald V. Adams Spirit of Drake Award in 2002 and the Madelyn Levitt Mentor of the Year Award. She received her master's degree in educational administration and a Ph.D. in higher education from Iowa State University. In 1999, she was a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, a community development program. Everage, along with Don Adams, Drake executive assistant to the president for community and alumni affairs, will be honored at the African American reunion this fall. "What's nice about this reunion is that not only was it initiated by the African American alumni, but the alumni office is right in there planning it with them," she says. After seeing students of color working to find their place on a predominantly white campus several years ago, Everage began working to get African American alumni involved on campus. At one time she even started a program called MAK IT - Multicultural Alumni Keeping In Touch - through which African American alumni were paired with students for whom they became mentors. Though lack of student participation ended the program, alumni participation was high. "African American alumni really want to know what can they do to give back," she says. "And not necessarily monetarily - that may come later - but how they can help students of color. Because they have been there, and they know, and they want to help." Everage would like to see more alumni of color become involved with students. She sees the reunion as more than just a chance to catch up. "The reunion is also a chance to find out what's going on at Drake," she says, "and give some honest feedback about our experiences at Drake - but then say, 'How can we be a part of the solution?' " She stresses that she would like to see more African American alumni telling potential students how their experiences at Drake - both positive and negative - helped shape their lives, just as she does with current students. And she urges alumni to think about how they can help students on campus. "Whether it be electronic, by phone, on campus or helping with internships, how can you help Drake through the alumni program and how do you want to enhance the existing structure at Drake so we're preparing our 21st-century students?" |
||
| << previous | next >> |
|