Senior citizen enters senior year at Dillard

22nd August 2016   ·   0 Comments

Charmaine Jackson
Contributing Writer

LaVerne Robertson Davis will begin her senior year at Dillard University New Orleans, a historically Black college and university (HBCU), at the age of 63, this fall. A love of music and singing coupled with fierce determination led her to revisit a path she began as a teenager—pursuing music.

“I really wanted to go to Texas Southern University,” Davis said. A high school graduate, at 16, her parents advised attending college close to home.

Davis’ musical journey began early, so much so, it’s safe to say music chose her. With strong musical influences stemming from her parents, who played piano, growing up, she too took piano lessons. She joined the church choir and became accustomed to singing gospel melodies. Davis started her collegiate career at University of New Orleans in 1970; however, it was short-lived.

“I wasn’t focused at UNO. I only went for a year and dropped out,” Davis said. Soon after, Davis married and started a family. She attempted to return to UNO seven years later, but gave birth to another child. After working as a legal assistant for 30 years, her passion for music and singing, along with a desire to complete school surfaced again.

“I enrolled in Delgado Community College in 2012 and graduated in 2014 with an associate degree in general studies. In my last semester at Delgado, I enrolled part-time at Dillard, so I was in my last semester at Delgado and first semester at Dillard simultaneously,” Davis said.

“I enrolled at Dillard because of the program. I like the fact that it is a small environment and it’s a beautiful campus,” Davis said. “My parents went to Dillard right after high school, and my father was a music major. They didn’t graduate,” Davis added.

Davis’ experience as a non-traditional college student has been a positive one, despite her age. “I don’t look my age,” Davis said. “When I tell people, they are in shock,” she added. The age gap has been complementary, as she has bonded with students, and is even looked upon as a role model. “I try to help when I see students struggling,” Davis said.

She had two examples of non-traditional education, as Davis’ mother earned a teaching degree, which included an hour Greyhound commute, each way, for class. Her sister returned to school, at the age of 54 to earn a Ph.D.

Fall of 2015, Davis received an e-mail from the financial aid department, announcing a scholarship opportunity. Allstate Insurance and the Tom Joyner Foundation created Quotes for Education, a program that awards scholarships to students attending HBCUs. Paying out-of-pocket for tuition, Davis needed financial assistance at the time. “My balance was $2,200 at the time,” Davis recalled. She applied for the scholarship on the day of the deadline. Davis was selected to receive the award among a plethora of applicants.

“As a non-traditional student and grandmother, I was surprised by it,” Davis said.

In addition to being awarded $2,000 to apply towards tuition, Davis was selected as the 2016 Quotes For Education Program Ambassador. As ambassador to the program, Davis’ role is to create awareness about the program. She is the second Quotes For Education Ambassador and selected due to demonstrating outstanding leadership in school and in the community. For each insurance quote, Allstate will donate $10 to the Tom Joyner Foundation in support of HBCU students. Since its inception in 2009, Allstate has donated more than $1 million in scholarships to over 500 HBCU students.

“Allstate and the Tom Joyner Foundation are passionate about investing in the aspirations of HBCU students to ensure that they become successful HBCU graduates,” said Cheryl Harris, senior vice president at Allstate and alumna of Florida A&M University. “HBCUs are a vital part of our country’s history and they continue to have an undeniable impact on their students, graduates, and the larger African-American community,” Harris stated.

Based on the Allstate Web Site, between August 1 and November 30, 2016, Allstate will contribute $10 for every person who mentions “Quotes For Education” when receiving an insurance quote from a participating Allstate agent, or quotes online at www.allstate.com/HBCU.

“I’ve always been a proponent of HBCUs because I feel like African-American kids are more successful simply because it’s a cultural thing,” Davis said. “Many of the instructors are products of HBCUs and they really put a lot of effort and go above and beyond to make sure students are successful. They are not just a number sitting in the classroom, but they take a personal approach,” Davis added.

Davis seizes opportunities for involvement in extra-curricular activities, as a vocal performance major. She has participated in all choir activities, including the most notable spring and Christmas concerts, and with the support of her husband, Robert Davis, participated in a six-city spring tour with the university’s choir. For the 2016-2017 school season, Davis was selected to be the president of the university choir.

As a member of Historic Second Baptist Church for almost two decades, Davis continues to sing in the choir, has served as president of the choir and worship leader, and also sings with the community choir. Every year, she anticipates performing in the gospel tent at the Jazz and Heritage Festival.

“I have a wide-broad range singing voice. I can sing as low as a male tenor, but I am a natural born alto,” Davis said. While she grew up listening and singing gospel music, Davis’ education bridged an international gap in the form of foreign language. “I had to sing a couple of Italian, German, and French songs for my junior recital,” Davis said. She listens to a broad range of music as well and fancies a few famous powerhouse voices such as Aretha Franklin, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, and Ledisi. Her vocals, she deems, reign with these artists, known for their strong voices.

LaVerne Robertson Davis is continuing the legacy her parents started, in education and music. As a grandmother of seven, she said five of them can play an instrument.

“My whole family is musical,” Davis said.

This article originally published in the August 22, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.