Army West Point Athletics
Football Featured: Kelvin White
October 01, 2015 | Football
Football Featured is part of the game program each home Saturday and profiles a member of the Army football team. Archive links to previous 2015 features can be found to the right of this story.
To persevere is to continue on in life in the face of difficulty, regardless of the situation. It is to maintain a purpose in spite of obstacles and to continue on adamantly.
To Kelvin White, perseverance is not an option, but a way of life.
Entering his plebe year, White was told news that would alter the course of his life. News that his grandmother, his caretaker, his number one fan, had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given only three months to live.
"She fought every single day of her life," White said. "After she found out about the cancer the doctors never gave her a chance after three months. She was living off borrowed time and the fact that she made it three years shows how strong she of a woman she was."
White, who had never considered a military path and had not affirmed his commitment to the Army, was ready to drop everything to be next to his grandmother's side. He was presented the opportunity to take leave for a semester. However, his 'Nan' gave him advice that stuck with him all this time.
"She kept telling me I had to help myself first before I helped anyone else," he shared. "She is the reason why I am the way I am today. She sacrificed more than anyone I know for me, to be happy and to make sure I had everything I needed. There were times when we didn't have a lot, but we had enough and we had each other."
He decided to stay at West Point and assist from afar. To the family's delight she was tougher than the doctors predicted and she outlasted the cancer for three and a half more years.
"Pancreatic cancer is more severe and it takes a toll on your body," White explained. "She wasn't a big human being, but she fought it for over three years. Those were the hardest three years of my life because I couldn't be there with her."
During that time, Kelvin was introduced to another fighter in Sean Callahan from the friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Sean was a 12 year old that had been fighting a pediatric brain tumor his entire life.
"He was only 12 and raised over $130,000 for pediatric brain tumors," White explained. "The fact that he personally affected countless people's lives is unreal to me. The fact that his mom and dad gave me and all my Army brothers the opportunity to meet him and get to know him is something I treasure a lot."
White was able to easily bond to Callahan and was there for him in the best of times and the worst. Without a conscious effort, White had stepped into Sean's life during his last year to live and in his most dire times as a true friend that he could reach out to at any time, day or night.
"The team adopted him last year and I didn't know what to think or expect," said White. "I really took it upon myself to reach out to him and I got to know him very well. I'm not the only person he confided in, but we talked about everything."
Regardless of the situation, White was a friend, a confidant, a supporter to both his grandmother and Sean through it all.
"He told me he was afraid he was going to die soon and that some kids were bullying him at school," White said. "He was like a little brother to me. He was definitely a part of my family and I valued him as though he was my own blood and my own brother."
Many people don't realize how many transitions White has gone through. He has endured the transition from high school, to prep school then to the Academy. He handled a transition from coach Ellerson to coach Monken along with multiple position changes throughout his course as a football player.
With so many changes in his life, White has had one constant the past few years and that is Army West Point football.
As a high school quarterback, White admits that he enjoyed that attention that came along with the position and thrived on it. Like all high school athletes, he saw himself playing Division I ball on television every Saturday. White had never considered the military as a career path, let alone combining it with football.
Assistant coach Tucker Waugh approached White and was the first to introduce him to the prospective future a graduate of West Point can obtain.
"Military was never an option for me until I found out I could play football at West Point," explained White. "I am definitely pleased with my decision and I hope to stay in the military for a while, which is ironic for someone who had never considered it."
While at the prep school and then the Academy itself, White's dreams became a reality. Along with Notre Dame, Army is one of two programs with an exclusive television contract allowing White to make it on television as the Black Knights take the field week after week.
A coaching change in the middle of White's career also meant a position change. But for him, the transition was an easy decision because it was for the team, the brotherhood.
"As a team player, it was the easiest decision I ever made," he commented. "You have to be able to put the needs of the team before yourself and that is something I really value. I try to stay as humble as I can be. I really try to figure out what the team needs from me, and also find out what I can do for the team which can be anything."
Little did White know that in the early months of 2015 that he would need the team for much more than football.
This past February, White's grandmother spoke to him for the last time saying, "please don't ever leave me." With those words engraved in his mind forever, White became lost without the woman who constantly told him that she was his number one fan.
"After she passed, I felt that I was lost in the world for a bit," he recalled. "Every single time she would text me she would sign off with, 'your #1 fan.' After I lost that I was confused. I was hurt and upset and I didn't have anywhere else to turn but to my friends and into the brotherhood."
On the eve of her services, the brotherhood of Army football proved to be the strongest ever. Head coach Jeff Monken and teammates DeAndre Bell and Geoffery Bacon represented the team and at the funeral.
"They didn't tell me that they were coming, but the fact that they were willing to drive more than seven hours round-trip in one day meant so much," White confessed. "That just shows the kind of guy that Monken is. The fact that he is the leader of our team and that he is willing to do that for one of his players really stuck to me hard. It is something I truly appreciated. I thanked him before, but I could never thank him enough for that."
The brotherhood of the West Point football team brought White out of his dark and lonely place of mourning. The brotherhood embraced him during a difficult time and propelled him to keep going, to re-find himself on and off the field.
"If I got through that with my Army football brothers, then I know I can get through anything ever with the support with my teammates and my friends," he said.
White claims that he will forever be impacted by his grandmother and Sean, but the impact that he has made on others during his perseverance is truly remarkable.
"There will be times where I'm hurt and don't want to do some things, but I am going to think back to Sean and my grandma," White shared. "Two individuals who were very close to me and fought off cancer, Sean for 12 years and my grandma for four. It's too easy to be thankful for everything that I have."
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To persevere is to continue on in life in the face of difficulty, regardless of the situation. It is to maintain a purpose in spite of obstacles and to continue on adamantly.
To Kelvin White, perseverance is not an option, but a way of life.
Entering his plebe year, White was told news that would alter the course of his life. News that his grandmother, his caretaker, his number one fan, had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given only three months to live.
"She fought every single day of her life," White said. "After she found out about the cancer the doctors never gave her a chance after three months. She was living off borrowed time and the fact that she made it three years shows how strong she of a woman she was."
White, who had never considered a military path and had not affirmed his commitment to the Army, was ready to drop everything to be next to his grandmother's side. He was presented the opportunity to take leave for a semester. However, his 'Nan' gave him advice that stuck with him all this time.
"She kept telling me I had to help myself first before I helped anyone else," he shared. "She is the reason why I am the way I am today. She sacrificed more than anyone I know for me, to be happy and to make sure I had everything I needed. There were times when we didn't have a lot, but we had enough and we had each other."
He decided to stay at West Point and assist from afar. To the family's delight she was tougher than the doctors predicted and she outlasted the cancer for three and a half more years.
"Pancreatic cancer is more severe and it takes a toll on your body," White explained. "She wasn't a big human being, but she fought it for over three years. Those were the hardest three years of my life because I couldn't be there with her."
During that time, Kelvin was introduced to another fighter in Sean Callahan from the friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Sean was a 12 year old that had been fighting a pediatric brain tumor his entire life.
"He was only 12 and raised over $130,000 for pediatric brain tumors," White explained. "The fact that he personally affected countless people's lives is unreal to me. The fact that his mom and dad gave me and all my Army brothers the opportunity to meet him and get to know him is something I treasure a lot."
White was able to easily bond to Callahan and was there for him in the best of times and the worst. Without a conscious effort, White had stepped into Sean's life during his last year to live and in his most dire times as a true friend that he could reach out to at any time, day or night.
"The team adopted him last year and I didn't know what to think or expect," said White. "I really took it upon myself to reach out to him and I got to know him very well. I'm not the only person he confided in, but we talked about everything."
Regardless of the situation, White was a friend, a confidant, a supporter to both his grandmother and Sean through it all.
"He told me he was afraid he was going to die soon and that some kids were bullying him at school," White said. "He was like a little brother to me. He was definitely a part of my family and I valued him as though he was my own blood and my own brother."
Many people don't realize how many transitions White has gone through. He has endured the transition from high school, to prep school then to the Academy. He handled a transition from coach Ellerson to coach Monken along with multiple position changes throughout his course as a football player.
With so many changes in his life, White has had one constant the past few years and that is Army West Point football.
As a high school quarterback, White admits that he enjoyed that attention that came along with the position and thrived on it. Like all high school athletes, he saw himself playing Division I ball on television every Saturday. White had never considered the military as a career path, let alone combining it with football.
Assistant coach Tucker Waugh approached White and was the first to introduce him to the prospective future a graduate of West Point can obtain.
"Military was never an option for me until I found out I could play football at West Point," explained White. "I am definitely pleased with my decision and I hope to stay in the military for a while, which is ironic for someone who had never considered it."
While at the prep school and then the Academy itself, White's dreams became a reality. Along with Notre Dame, Army is one of two programs with an exclusive television contract allowing White to make it on television as the Black Knights take the field week after week.
A coaching change in the middle of White's career also meant a position change. But for him, the transition was an easy decision because it was for the team, the brotherhood.
"As a team player, it was the easiest decision I ever made," he commented. "You have to be able to put the needs of the team before yourself and that is something I really value. I try to stay as humble as I can be. I really try to figure out what the team needs from me, and also find out what I can do for the team which can be anything."
Little did White know that in the early months of 2015 that he would need the team for much more than football.
This past February, White's grandmother spoke to him for the last time saying, "please don't ever leave me." With those words engraved in his mind forever, White became lost without the woman who constantly told him that she was his number one fan.
"After she passed, I felt that I was lost in the world for a bit," he recalled. "Every single time she would text me she would sign off with, 'your #1 fan.' After I lost that I was confused. I was hurt and upset and I didn't have anywhere else to turn but to my friends and into the brotherhood."
On the eve of her services, the brotherhood of Army football proved to be the strongest ever. Head coach Jeff Monken and teammates DeAndre Bell and Geoffery Bacon represented the team and at the funeral.
"They didn't tell me that they were coming, but the fact that they were willing to drive more than seven hours round-trip in one day meant so much," White confessed. "That just shows the kind of guy that Monken is. The fact that he is the leader of our team and that he is willing to do that for one of his players really stuck to me hard. It is something I truly appreciated. I thanked him before, but I could never thank him enough for that."
The brotherhood of the West Point football team brought White out of his dark and lonely place of mourning. The brotherhood embraced him during a difficult time and propelled him to keep going, to re-find himself on and off the field.
"If I got through that with my Army football brothers, then I know I can get through anything ever with the support with my teammates and my friends," he said.
White claims that he will forever be impacted by his grandmother and Sean, but the impact that he has made on others during his perseverance is truly remarkable.
"There will be times where I'm hurt and don't want to do some things, but I am going to think back to Sean and my grandma," White shared. "Two individuals who were very close to me and fought off cancer, Sean for 12 years and my grandma for four. It's too easy to be thankful for everything that I have."
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