Richard White's Story

Richard White is a diligent student and a hard worker. He’s determined to go to college and flips hamburgers after school to help pay the bills. He pitches in to assist his mother with a large family of two brothers and three sisters.

But he says he could easily have gone down a very different road. He remembers clearly a turning point for him that came in sixth grade.

He was with a group of friends who lit up cigarettes in the bathroom between classes.

“They said, ‘Come on, smoking in school would be cool,’” Richard said. “But I went a different way. I ended up walking out of the bathroom.”

What made the difference?

“I learned at WINGS to think a lot more about the consequences of doing bad things instead of just going along,” Richard said.

“I said to myself, ‘Why would I make a decision like that? I didn’t want to be back in the same grade again. Some of my friends ended up back in sixth grade again for getting caught smoking.”

Now a senior at Septima Clark Academy in Charleston who loves math and history – especially studying the Civil War – Richard wants to attend Clemson University.

“Where I’m from, people barely get out of high school. I’m going to college.  My mom’s had to work hard – I’m doing a great thing for her by going,” he said proudly.

Richard says the time he spent at WINGS helped him develop motivation, good study habits and confidence in himself. He learned to do his own thinking.

“WINGS made school a lot easier. I’d have an advantage in class the next day. The WINGSLeaders helped us out with homework. At first, I didn’t want to sit down and read instead of playing basketball or doing other fun things. At WINGS I learned to do the work first and then have fun. I learned why it was important to do the work – so I could achieve my goals. Another thing about WINGS – you stay out of trouble after school.”

With a smile, Richard recalls how he liked WINGS so much, he volunteered to help in the program when he became too old to attend. “I never wanted it to be over! It was a good place for me to be. I wanted to get back in the program any way I could. Also I wanted to help other kids the way that WINGS helped me. Doing WINGS was a big plus.”

As he looks ahead to his future, Richard plans to study business management and keep working as a cashier and a cook during his free time.

“I want to own my own business,” he said. “I want to be that boss that everyone likes and wants to work for.”