Standing on business: SC State business administration student lands dream job at Toyota
“Growing up in Orangeburg can be tough. I grew up with my aunt, and we had a lot of struggles,” White said. “But my aunt is a big supporter in my life; she’s amazing. When I told her I was going to college, she was very excited because she never had that experience for herself.”
White, 22, was raised in Orangeburg by her aunt, Pauline White. Even though they were faced with adversity, she was determined to have a successful outcome in life and make her aunt proud.
White received her bachelor's degree in management from SC State in 2023. She is now a graduate student at the university, working toward her Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in healthcare management.
Originally, she started her academic career at Claflin University, but after careful consideration, she decided to switch to SC State and pursue a different career path.
“SC State felt more at home. I always felt that way about the band, and I always felt
a good vibe here. This is also an accredited school for the College of Business, which
is an amazing department,” she said.
White has also won two awards as one of SC State’s Institute for Business, Environment, Communications & Transportation (BECT) scholars.
She served as a student ambassador for the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development, (SFEPD), but shortly after, got promoted to peer financial coach.
She also is a member of Finance and Investment Black Wallstreet, and is a member of Apex Global Pipeline LLC, a team of individuals working towards global transportation of goods by partnering with businesses in Trinidad and Tobago.
White is an intern at Project Destined, a company that provides students with training in real estate, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. She is collaborating with her team members to work on a real estate project for the Florence, South Carolina, area.
“Project Destined provides amazing internships, especially for people who want to get into real estate – that’s something that I want to do in the future,” White said. “We meet twice each week to discuss investment memos dealing with real estate professionals.”
White is passionate about her field and throughout her academic career, she has been eager to get as much internship experience as possible. In 2023, she did two internships at Toyota. During her first internship with Toyota, White worked with the logistics team to facilitate daily warehouse operations. Her second internship with the company was virtual.
“I want to work at Toyota because I love the environment,” she said. “Toyota is a company that invests in their employees and that’s the type of company I want to work for – a company that cares about me.”
White never thought about working in the automobile industry before her experience at Toyota, but doing the internship made her change her mind.
“When I did my first Toyota internship, my supervisor was so amazing at delivering projects at a fast pace, so that’s something that I look up to and want to be able to do – complete projects,” White said.
White starts her full-time position with Toyota in January 2025. Her goal is to grow within the company as much as possible.
“I would not have gotten my internships if it wasn’t for the Career Center. Going to them and calling them – even when I was doing my internship and had multiple questions – Mr. Joseph Thomas, answered me every single time. And if he didn’t know the answer, he made sure to get back with me,” White said.
She credits the College of Business and the Career Center for her continual success and growth within her career.
“I’m just thankful for all the professional development classes the College of Business provides. Those classes prepare you for real life. They have so many opportunities,” White said.
After she receives her master’s degree and gets established at Toyota, White wants
to do real estate as a side gig and plans to invest in multiple properties. She also
desires to give back to her community.