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	“During my years at Baldwin-Wallace College, I learned that adversity may slow you down, but a strong will can overcome any negative situation,” recalled the Honorable George W. White. After graduating from B-W, he earned his law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law and began his career as a domestic relations referee and a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society. His dedication to the law and service to community led him to a seat on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. George White became the first African American justice of the United States District Court (Northern District of Ohio) when he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.  His tenure as Chief Justice of that court (1995-99) capped a stellar career of public service. He served on Cleveland City Council and founded a number of community organizations including the Negro Community Federation, Blacks Organized for Social Services, and the First Club of Cleveland. He currently is president and director of the Cleveland Browns Foundation. George White’s approach to life is summarized in the motto of the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, which he helped found: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
	“When going to college, I wanted to be a preacher, but I couldn’t stop cussing. So I became a politician” And what a politician George Forbes became! The son of a Tennessee sharecropper, he came to Baldwin-Wallace College on the G.I. Bill, and after earning a degree in law he launched a career of public service spanning more than a quarter century. First elected to Cleveland City Council in 1964, he served as Council President from 1973–89. His Council career was often marked by controversy, yet he was recognized as a pivotal force in improving the city’s infrastructure and finances, authoring the first gun-control ordinance and structuring model minority business legislation. He was a founder of  Forbes, Forbes & Teamor, the largest minority-owned law firm in Ohio. After retiring from elected office, George Forbes became president of the Cleveland Chapter of the NAACP and continues to serve his alma mater as a member of the Board of Trustees.
	“It’s not what you have done that’s important; it’s what you do now.” Steven Minter learned that lesson as a Baldwin-Wallace College student and he has continued to “do” throughout his career, first as a welfare caseworker, later as a Massachusetts’ Commissioner of Public Welfare and as Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education. As leader of America’s oldest community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, he has directed millions of dollars in grants to help the people and programs throughout Northeast Ohio. “I’ve had the rare privilege to work with outstanding people. What distinguishes them for me was that they all had an extremely strong desire to make a big difference.”
	While growing up as a student at Cleveland East High School, and Baldwin-Wallace College, young Harvey Hopson never considered a career in the military. But all that changed. While he didn’t choose to fly like Spann Watson, his father-in-law and one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, he certainly did soar as Colonel Harvey Hopson, chief defense counsel for the United States Marine Corps. Throughout his military career he focused on mentoring other African-American Marines. Now retired from active duty, he is back at his alma mater, working with the President’s Council of Cleveland, finding ways to help African-American businessmen succeed.
	Born into a hard-working, middle class Cleveland family, Gloria Pace King recalls, “My father said there was no place in our family for mediocrity…if we were going to do something, we should aim high and make our effort 100 percent.” The first black graduate of St. Alexis School of Nursing, she earned her MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1980 while balancing her full-time career and family life. Her personal desire to excel fueled leadership in the community, first as president and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association, and later as senior vice-president of the United Way of Cleveland. She is currently enhancing the quality of life in her region as the president of the United Way of Central Carolinas, Inc. and is moving to the national stage as recently-elected chair of the National Professional Council, a board of professional officers from United Way organizations. Says King, we need to “join together to strengthen the community…and empower people.”