Taylor Bembery
Associate Editor
Messages of motivation, inspiration and encouragement were delivered on Nov. 4 at Jackson State University by former NBA player and Entrepreneur, Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Johnson, a native of Lansing, Mich., in his early career was known for his dominance as an All-Star Point Guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Taking his focus from basketball to business, he now uses his experiences as a testimony to attest that anything can be accomplished through having a hard work ethic.
Johnson was welcomed to the campus by JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers, and her entire Presidential Cabinet.
“I’ve taken this university to the next level and this is only my fourth year. We have led the state in increases in enrollment. We are one of two HBCU’s that are designated as research intense and our students are winning awards.,” said Meyers. “We reinvented ourselves and everybody got on the same page. We’ve held hands as we remodeled and together we can do anything. So we’re delighted to have Mr. Johnson holding our hand as a partner through SodexoMagic.”
SodexoMagic is one of Johnson’s businesses and he made sure that he met the entire staff and cafeteria workers inside of The Legacy in the JSU Student Center. Workers were completely shocked that he took time out during his visit to appreciate them for a job well done.
Johnson shared how he became involved with Sodexo.
“Another company was recruiting me because of my track record. Once you start getting a track record of success, people are going to start caring about you. I got involved with Sodexo because it is a worldwide company; they do it better than anybody else. They had minorities as executives, so it was a perfect match for us to come together to do food service and facility management,” said Johnson.
Johnson delivered three speeches while on the JSU campus . He spoke to students in the College of Business, student athletes in the Walter Payton Center, and the entire student body in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium. Even though the speeches were different, all three speeches stressed the importance of being diligent in getting an education and the fundamentals of being a successful entrepreneur.
Johnson was the first out 10 people in his family to go to college with a basketball scholarship to Michigan State University. During his matriculation at MSU before being drafted into the NBA in 1979, he said books were just as important as basketball.
Gerrald Maddox, a junior education major from Birmingham, Ala. and point guard on the JSU Men’s Basketball team, said Johnson’s speech was right on time because the first game of the JSU Men’s Basketball season was later that evening.
“I learned that you have to be disciplined in the classroom as well as on the court. You have to learn from every experience, as far as being a better leader. I play point guard, just like Magic Johnson did. I’m going to take his leadership role advice with me to help my team,” said Maddox.
During his last stop in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium, Johnson was honored by the Mayor of Jackson, Miss., Tony Yarber, for his courageousness in the advocacy of HIV/AIDS awareness. He was also given a token of appreciation for his entrepreneurship by President Carolyn Meyers.
Johnson shared advice to students on the importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset.
“When you think about opening up your own business, it’s important that you believe in yourself, your business strategy, and your business plan. If you can do that, you have a good chance at being successful. A lot of times for us as minorities, as African-Americans, we don’t really believe in ourselves. We must believe in ourselves, once that happens; that also makes us work harder to do our homework and research because that is so important to become a successful business woman or man,” said Johnson.
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