Contact: Robbie S. Ward
STARKVILLE--Sterling Thompson sat toward the back of his communication classroom Thursday at Mississippi State and saw his future.
The Flora native and broadcast communication major saw in front of him a handsome, quick-thinking man with his life put together. He saw a "young" 50-year-old executive at Black Entertainment Television who has visited countries all over the world, a man who has produced music festivals and shared friendships with world leaders such as Nelson Mandela.
He wasn't daydreaming. Thompson and his classmates listened to Paxton Baker, executive vice president and general manager of CENTRIC, a channel within the BET company, whose Rolodex reads like a who's who of global movers and shakers. The television executive and chairman of the U.S. Congressional Awards program visited MSU to share insights with students about how to succeed in business and life.
He also shared a side of himself usually not mentioned when someone introduces him to speak.
Before he made a name for himself in the entertainment world, he was a two-time high school dropout whose life seemed to head nowhere. He made plenty of mistakes but looked at his buddies hanging out on the streets and decided that kind of life wasn't for him.
"I realized I didn't want to end up in some of those places," he said.
With his suave smile and calm eye contact, Baker set high standards to achieve. He wouldn't settle for mediocrity. While not a stellar student until junior college, Baker worked at his campus radio station when he attended Temple University, even producing his own talk radio programs.
By the time he graduated from college, he had the beginnings of that bulging Rolodex by waiting for jazz musicians after shows and meeting top agents in the business.
So, it's no wonder he stresses to students the importance of relationships they develop in college. It helped shape his life.
"I get about 250 e-mails a day," he told one group of students. "I usually don't look at them unless I know the person who wrote them."
With the current economic climate, Baker encouraged students to surpass what others expect of them and never stop thinking with a "what if..." attitude. He stressed the importance of thinking about opportunities possible in life.
Speaking of opportunities, Thompson, the student who saw his future in Baker, just started school at MSU after transferring from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and also wants to make a name for himself in the media industry.
As he sat listening to Baker, Thompson saw a future where he achieved as much as or more than the executive speaking to him. After hearing Baker speak about the importance of people making things happen for themselves, Thompson plans to get more involved on campus.
"I want to reach some of the same pinnacles he has," Thompson said. "That could be me."