By Sally Voth, Laurel Ridge Public Relations Coordinator
Serendipity, coupled with some good advice, led 2019 Luray High School graduate Alex White to where he is today — a Harvard University graduate in his first year of law school at Yale University — and Laurel Ridge Community College has played a large role in his journey.
Without community college classes being available in his own backyard, White may have never received a higher education.
“With my family background, kind of low income, working class, I never really thought college would be in the cards because I didn’t think it would be affordable,” said White.
During his junior and senior years at Luray High School, he decided to take as many dual-enrolled classes as he could, attending Massanutten Regional Governor’s School in Shenandoah County for half of his school day, taking some evening classes at Laurel Ridge’s Luray-Page County Center (LPCC), and even participating in a customized dual-enrolled class at his home high school. White earned his associate degree in General Studies simultaneously with his high school diploma.
“My parents were always really adamant that I should make the most of the opportunity to get my associate degree while in high school,” he said. “It’s much more affordable and would be making the most of the resource that’s there.”
White thought maybe he would stay in the area and learn a trade, or possibly transfer to the University of Virginia. However, a friend more familiar with the four-year college application process than he was talked to him about the possibility of applying to Ivy League schools.
“You think they would be really expensive and out of reach, but they have these big endowments and are able to offer these scholarships,” White explained. “I took the time kind of last-minute over Christmas break of my senior year after that conversation and applied to over a dozen schools using a fee waiver for the Common Application.”
That spring, college admissions letters started to arrive.
“The first one I opened was the Harvard one, thinking it would be a no,” said White.
Not only was he accepted into Harvard University, the college was offering him a full ride.
“Being somebody at Harvard who had a community college degree, I think a lot of people saw that and sort of knew I had the grit and I was going to do the work,” White said. “I’ve always had my Laurel Ridge associate degree on my resume. It probably sends some kind of message that in high school I was willing to do the work and get a college degree at the same time. I think it has been really beneficial in signaling what I’m about.”
He said he loved his time at Massanutten Regional Governor’s School. The classes there were dual enrolled with Laurel Ridge.
“All my professors there were fantastic,” he said.
White took a government class at the LPCC with Professor Corey Harlow.
“I really enjoyed that class,” White said. “It was a cool group of people, different stages of life. We would talk about current events, political issues and have class debates. I really enjoyed everything. They were all great classes.”
Alex White, pictured on the right, at his graduation from Harvard University.
White graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in government on the public policy track in 2023.
During his senior year, White ran for Luray Town Council and won, and recently [resigned on Oct. 8 to attend law school at Yale University]. He describes his [council] tenure as a great learning experience.
Between graduating from Harvard and going to Yale, White spent two years with AmeriCorps’s Lead for America program. The first year, he worked remotely with historically Black colleges and universities in North Carolina on education pipeline programs. White then worked with the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, which helps business owners and entrepreneurs grow their ventures.
Although he was already a Harvard grad, White found himself surprised to get into Yale for law school. While many graduate programs don’t offer financial aid, Yale offered him need-based assistance, the Hurst Horizon Scholarship.
“It took a real financial load off,” he said.
White isn’t looking forward to a couple more winters spent in New England, but is enjoying his first semester of law studies.
“It’s been good,” he said. “It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of reading. Time management has been a major key. It’s a really cool mix of people from all walks of life, all different kinds of interests.”
With his law degree, White hopes to do something in the public service realm. This could include working in antitrust regulation or on class-action lawsuits, such as the recent opioid settlements.
“Being involved in something like that I think would be really rewarding,” White said. “I would love to do whatever I can to be back in Virginia and, hopefully, working in some capacity that helps rural areas and small towns.”
Growing up, White says he never would have expected to be where he is today.
“That’s the craziest thing,” he said. “When I was on the town council, I would talk to the high school government seniors every semester. I never thought a four-year degree was on the table. No one in my direct family ever did that. I was kind of figuring — and I still recommend this pathway to a lot of people — I was really thinking about doing a trade so I wouldn’t have debt.
“A couple different conversations that I had — that friend from governor’s school who knew a lot more about college applications than I did, who explained financial aid to me.”
Someone else told him about the Common App fee waiver so he could apply to multiple colleges. A woman he ran into when he was working a job in high school told him about a biography she’d read about someone from a disadvantaged background applying to prestigious universities and suggested he do the same.
“It’s like I’m on a really crazy road that I never expected to be on and I just feel blessed every day,” White said. “I want to try to do something with it that honors people who supported me along the way.
“I did not think things would work out the way they did; that associate degree made a big difference at the beginning. Community colleges are one of the best ideas in American history. They change a lot of lives and do so every day.”
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.
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Congratulations White. Make sure that justice is always served.
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