F
or Marta White, becoming an American is something she truly cherishes. White was born and raised in the small town of Strazske in eastern Czechoslovakia. In 1968, not long after she completed her chemical technology degree at the Industrial School for Chemistry, Russian troops invaded her country in efforts to halt political reforms. It is an event White will never forget. “I still remember hearing the rumble when the Russian tanks invaded our city in August of 1968,” White says. “We didn’t know what was going on. We turned on the radio and heard that Russia had invaded Czechoslovakia. Our way of life changed dramatically.” White was one of almost 80,000 people who left Czechoslovakia after the invasion, but she was the only member of her family to leave. Her parents are now deceased, but she stays in contact with her two sisters and one brother who still live in Slovakia. In December 1968, White was approved for a three-month vacation to visit her aunt in Queens, N.Y. Unable to speak any English, White flew into New York City with only $5. Shortly afterward, she applied for and was granted political asylum and a green card. She took a job as a chemist for Elizabeth Arden, a beauty, cosmetics and makeup company. In 1971, Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company in Indianapolis, purchased Elizabeth Arden and moved the research center there. White climbed the ladder at Elizabeth Arden and when Lilly sold Arden, she was in charge of lipstick formulation and production. During her career with Elizabeth Arden she had the opportunity to interact with many special people and created a red lipstick for Ann Landers, the famous advice columnist. White describes 1978 as “one of the best years in my life” because that February, with the help of Sen. Dick Lugar, she became a U.S. citizen. Lilly divested Elizabeth Arden on April 1, 1987. Bob Williams, Lilly vice president, encouraged White and gave her the opportunity for a new career. She studied library sciences at Indiana University and became the senior librarian for Eli Lilly Research Labs in Greenfield, Ind.
“I am a doer, and I am independent,” White says. “Having a degree in chemistry I knew I could get a job in the United States and do a good job. I learned from my aunt that if you work hard you can do and be whatever you want. That was my goal: to do my best and apply myself the best I could.” White met her husband, Dennis, while working in Greenfield. Dennis, a 1964 OSU animal science graduate, worked for Eli Lilly’s animal health division, Elanco, in animal product development and technical service. He also holds a master’s degree from OSU and a doctorate from Texas A&M. They married in 1990 — “another best year in my life,” Marta adds — and both took an early retirement and moved to Dennis’ hometown of Ninnekah, Okla., in 1999. Because of Dennis’ passion for the Cowboys, Marta has adopted OSU as her alma mater in the United States. “I bleed orange,” Marta says. “I am very supportive of Dennis and whatever he does. Since I can’t give to my school back home, I want to give here. It has become my school.”
Marta White, center, poses with her husband, Dennis, and daughter, Eleni Handrinos, at an OSU football game. Far left, Marta White and Valeria Cuhova perform an experiment at the Industrial School for Chemistry in Humenne, Czechoslovakia, in the late 1960s.
Fig. C
But Marta’s passion for giving reaches far beyond the OSU campus. Every year she knits scarves and bakes cakes for the Children’s Center in Bethany, Okla. She also bakes for the senior center in Ninnekah and numerous other charity events in Grady County as well as for Mark Harmon charity events. She is also a docent for the National Cowboy and
“I still remember hearing the rumble when the Russian tanks invaded our city in August of 1968.” For more than a decade, the Whites have been staunch supporters in multiple facets at OSU. They are season ticket holders for basketball and football along with being donors for the first endowed chair in the Animal Science Department. Dennis serves on the board of trustees of the OSU Foundation and also on the advisory board for the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Most recently the couple gave a $50,000 scholarship to the Animal Science Department as part of the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match program.
Western Heritage Museum. In 2008, she was recognized as the “Diamond Hat of the Year” for her efforts to raise money for the 4-H and FFA youth of Oklahoma. Her incessant determination and contagious passion for giving will not only continue to impact OSU but also those lives she has touched in Ninnekah. “Somehow I knew my life would end up like this,” she says. “I knew I would immigrate and I knew I would do well in the United States. I’ve been lucky, blessed and fortunate.”
600
500
Kat i e A nn R o b i ns o n 400
61