Chancellor talks to student leaders

Failures and setbacks are just speed bumps on the highway of life.

With all eyes on Dr. Wright Lassiter, Jr., this message resonated loud and clear across the room at the Student Leadership Institute (SLI) meeting. The Chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District addressed North Lake students on Jan. 26.

By quoting the insightful statement from Andrew Wainrib, Lassiter asked the students to learn from the person who refused to let failures hold him back. Wainrib suffered from tremendous losses a number of times in the 1990s due to a riot, fire and earthquake in California.

“The road to success is rarely a straight line. For each of us, when the road of life gets bumpy, there comes the temptation to bail out,” Lassiter said.

To Denise Harper, a native of California, Wainrib's experience reverberated close to home.

“I was living in Los Angeles during those times. I remember looking into the faces of some of the victims. Later, I looked at some of those same businesses and properties that were burned to the ground. I was also in the major earthquake,” said the international business/real estate sophomore. “Sometimes adversities lead you to a more desirable position.”

In addition, Lassiter drew examples from other people, including ex-Supreme Court nominee Harriet Myers, lawyer Vernon Jordan, and biblical figure Job. But the most well known of all was Abraham Lincoln. Before becoming U.S. president in 1860, Lincoln led a life and career marked more by failure than victory.

“When Dr. Lassiter discussed all of Lincoln's setbacks, I realized how many Lincoln actually had,” said Amanda Macy, a high school senior who enrolls in dual credit classes at North Lake. “I believe that he was a great example of how to use failures as a springboard for success.”

Amanda Macy came to the SLI meeting for the first time at her brother's urging. Her brother, engineering freshman Keith Macy, is an SLI member. She said now she no longer looks at failure as a problem, but as a new challenge to try harder.

But learning to accept failures alone is not enough. Lassiter said the real challenge is to learn how to bounce back from them and succeed, just like Mike Espy did. Unlike Lincoln, Espy was no stranger to success. The former U.S. congressman and secretary of agriculture was accused of abusing his power and fell out of grace in 1994. After a long ordeal to prove his innocence, he was finally exonerated four years later.

“Mike Espy never gave up. He kept thinking positive and bounced back. He knew in his mind that he was innocent,” Macy said.

As a leader, Lassiter's own career is dotted with numerous successes. Prior to assuming the DCCCD chancellorship, he served a number of leadership positions from Alabama to New York.

Despite the achievements, Lassiter had his share of failures. He said his biggest disappointment was his failure to rescue Bishop College. Later, the Dallas-based historically black college lost its accreditation and closed its door in 1988 after a financial scandal.

Bouncing back from Bishop College's failure, Lassiter served 20 years as the president of El Centro College where he intended to retire, until his unexpected appointment as the DCCCD chancellor in 2006. He advised the listeners to always get ready for the next phase of life as the unthinkable may happen at any time, for the better or for the worse.

“I liked the way Dr. Lassiter related his life experiences to the listeners' so they could take that information and apply it in their lives,” said Drena Settles, SLI coordinator. “It's going to benefit us all.”

At the end of the meeting, all eyes were no longer on Lassiter, but on his message that will carry the student leaders forward in the quest for their own leadership roles in life.