When asked why she chose to attend Fresno State, Jazzmine White credits her mother, Carol Bishop, who was a vocal advocate for minority students at Fresno State while pursuing her own degree in the 1960s and 70s — the campus then reflecting the unrest and upheaval felt across the nation as people protested the war in Vietnam and Blacks and Chicanos, among other groups, fought for equal rights, opportunities and representation.
While a student, Bishop served on the university’s Educational Opportunity Commission and Ethnic Studies Commision while also coordinating the Educational Opportunity Program’s Summer Institute and working as a counselor and tutor for her peers. For her contributions to the campus community, she was the inaugural recipient of the Fresno Free College Foundation’s scholarship.
Dr. Alex Vavoulis, then-president of the foundation, said in a 1971 article, “Miss Bishop’s tireless and selfless contributions to these important educational projects oftentimes placed her in the center of controversy on campus.
“The foundation board feels it would be a tragedy if [she], who has contributed so much to the educational opportunity of others, [were] denied the opportunity to finish her own college education.”
Bishop graduated in 1972, and went on to earn her master’s as well. She also became an agent of change in West Fresno.
White said, “I was really proud of her. My parents were both very smart. They started a chess club on the westside and a library in [the neighborhood surrounding] Bigby Villa [apartment complex in Fresno]. They ran special programs for young people on the westside.”
Inspired by her mother, White grew up knowing that college was in her future, and she enrolled in classes at Fresno City College immediately after graduating from high school. But life presented some unexpected turns. White became a wife and mother, then found herself a single mom facing “life struggles” before she was able to earn a degree.
While working to keep the family afloat, White also raised her children, Jadora and Earl White, with the same values instilled in her by her own parents. Both Jadora and Earl grew up surrounded by books and spent time together with their mom giving back to the community — volunteering at the Poverello House, with their church and on their own to ensure people in the neighborhood had access to food.
Seeing the drive their mom exhibited throughout their childhood, Jadora and Earl knew they wanted to go to college and pursue a better life for themselves and their family.
After graduating from Sunnyside High School in 2020, Jadora enrolled at Fresno State. She majored in liberal studies, with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher.
A couple of years into her journey as a Bulldog, Jadora helped Earl apply to Fresno State and make the transition from high school to university life. He is now in his junior year, majoring in criminology.
Jadora also helped her mom, who had decided to return to her own educational pursuit, this time at Fresno State.
Jazzmine White is majoring in sociology. Both she and Jadora are preparing to cross the graduation stage in May. Jazzmine will be walking during the College of Social Sciences ceremony at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 16, at Save Mart Center, and Jadora will be walking during the Kremen School of Education and Human Development ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 16, at Save Mart Center.
The family’s experience at Fresno State has both mirrored that of Carol Bishop and proved to be beyond anything she could have imagined for herself during her time as a student — Earl joining the mock trial team and traveling to Southern California for the championship competition, and Jadora traveling to Washington, D.C. with the Black Student Success Initiative to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and political and grassroots organizations.
While Bishop lived to see her daughter and grandchildren begin their studies at Fresno State, she passed away before she could see any of them receive their degrees.
“She was really excited about us being enrolled in school. For me to finally be here was like I won the lottery in her eyes,” Jazzmine White said.
The family faced another loss around the same time, when Jadora and Earl’s father passed away unexpectedly.
“There were days it was hard to get up in the morning. And then there’s homework, and having to go to class and interact with people,” Jazzmine White said. “I’m proud that Earl and Jadora pushed through and that we were able to deal with it together. We’re still dealing with it together.”
Already a tight-knit family, their time at Fresno State has brought the Whites even closer — checking in on one another throughout the week, encouraging each other’s goals and studying together when their schedules overlap.
Jadora said, “It’s been just the three of us for a long time. We’re each other’s support system.”
As they approach graduation, Jazzmine looks forward to finding a job that will allow her to make a positive impact on the community, and Jadora is looking to further her education, exploring opportunities outside of the Valley.
Earl, who is taking steps to go to law school, said of seeing his mom and sister make it to this milestone moment, “I feel proud. They’ve both come a long way and worked hard. Every generation should do better than the last, and I believe that’s what we’re doing.”
