The art of healing.

Meet Marcus White.

Marcus is a consumer district manager based out of Chicago, Illinois, who began his journey at Verizon over nine years ago in 2013.

A “home-grown Louisianan,” Marcus took us on a tour of his family home in the city of Alexandria. Marcus grew up in an artistic family, which rubbed off on him at the young age of six when he began painting. Art served as his creative outlet.

Marcus began in Verizon as a sales representative. Just a year later, Marcus packed his bags and moved to Dallas, Texas, to take on a new role as an assistant manager in Inside Sales. It wasn’t long before he landed in his current role of district manager, which he enjoys because he can “be that go-to and say, ‘hey, this is what I would do, this is my recommendation.’”

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Marcus also took on the role of BOLD West Regional lead. One of Marcus’s vice presidents through BOLD asked him to support her on a mental-health project.

“It’s looked down upon sometimes when a man is being vulnerable. There's that stigma around if I’m upset, or if I cry, or if I show emotion, I’m not strong.” Citing police brutality, and racial and social justice – issues that largely affect the Black community, in particular – Marcus noted that having a therapist or someone to talk to is incredibly important.

Marcus took advantage of five free counseling sessions that are offered as part of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and he has continued to stay in contact and maintain a long-term relationship. Marcus said he “wanted to be that walking example” to share with his team the positive impact therapy and the EAP have had on him.

“Mental health is important, and it’s important for us to check ourselves at the door and make sure that we’re good.”

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