Oklahoma State University alumnus Mario White’s goal of giving back to the community lead him to first teach high school math and now to serve as a county judge. “A motivating factor for me is to try to contribute back,” White said. “You know I went to public school. I went to Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. I went to OSU. I had academic scholarships. I’ve always felt it’s important to try to give back to the next generation.” The environment was one reason why White chose OSU. “I knew that I wanted to go into math, and I really didn’t have a strong desire to move out of state at the time,” he said. “I looked at both OSU and the University of Oklahoma, and there was something about Oklahoma State that really kind of drew me — I really liked the math department. STORY KENDRA CARLSON | PHOTOS TESSA TSARONG AND PROVIDED A Goal of Giving Back Alumnus takes his penchant for helping others from classroom to courtroom I was impressed with the programs they had, the faculty who were there and the attention they gave.” White entered college knowing he wanted to major in math but after taking a class on Western civilization with Dr. Neal Hackett, he decided to also major in history. “I knew I wanted to be a math major,” White said. “I took a lot of advanced math classes at OSSM, and I … came into OSU so far ahead of the curve in terms of math classes. I had a lot of elective credits, and so I took a Western civ class. Dr. Neal Hackett was the instructor, and I really like the class. I liked his teaching style, and it just sort of spurred me to take another class and then another class and then before I knew it I thought, ‘Well, I could actually do a major in this as well.’” After graduating from OSU, White moved to Dallas and took a teaching certification class to teach math. He taught for three years, with his last two years at the magnet School for the Talented and Gifted. “That was really cool to kind of be able to teach in an environment with students who were regular high school students but they were academically gifted,” White said. “Not everyone was gifted in all areas. I had some students who struggled in math but were really great in other areas. It was a really neat environment. Those students, like any high school students, definitely had their quirks.” White left teaching to attend the University of Wisconsin for a juris doctorate. At first, he thought he would work for a government agency or be a prosecutor. However, White became active on the UW mock trial team and had two professors who were instrumental in training him in trial advocacy and a driving force for his becoming a public defender. “Two of my mock trial coaches became judges,” White said. “One, who was a public defender, talked about her job. That motivated me to become a public defender. Even though I loved the work, as the years progressed, I felt that I wanted to do something else.” 20 CONNECT 2020
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