We’re bringing back our Athlete of the Month feature, and kicking off the new season with a great one as we highlight Charlestown Giant, Patrick White.
Pat recently wrapped up a summer working as the afternoon dispatcher in Charlestown before heading back to RPI for his senior year, where he’ll serve as captain of the men’s basketball team.
Pat grew up in Lakeville, Massachusetts, in a very athletic family. Basketball became Pat’s primary sport after he grew to be 6’4” going into high school, and after three years at Lakeville High School, he transferred to Tabor Academy for his senior year to get some more recruiting visibility. There, he helped his team win a league championship and was recruited to play at RPI.
Unfortunately, last season Pat suffered a torn ACL, requiring surgery and putting an early end to his season. Rather than stepping away from the team, he remained involved, helping coach while beginning the long rehab process.
Pat is currently very focused on physical therapy and strengthening his leg in hopes of rejoining the lineup later this season. RPI has built a strong program during Pat’s tenure, but after several deep playoff runs that ended just short of a championship, Pat and his teammates are determined to bring home a trophy this season.
Pat is a student of the game who absolutely loves watching film, breaking down the details, and using those study skills to help his team perform better.
That focus extends beyond sports and has carried over into Pat’s work at Gentle Giant.
Pat spent his first two summers at Gentle Giant working on the trucks in Providence before joining Dispatch this summer, following a bit of a family tradition. His father, Tim, worked at Gentle Giant in the ’80s and ’90s, first on the trucks and later in Dispatch, where a cartoon drawing of his face still hangs on the wall.
When asked who would make the better dispatcher between him and his dad, Pat laughed and picked himself. He backed up his claim with a solid argument about how much the systems, technology, and communication tools have evolved over the years, making the whole department more effective.
Just as young athletes today benefit from better coaching, endless film review, and more resources, Pat sees how the Dispatch team has spent years improving processes and building better tools, allowing him and everyone else to handle more.
Listening to Pat talk about Gentle Giant, there are a lot of parallels between his takeaways from working on the operations team and the things he loves most about basketball: reviewing and ironing out the details of teamwork and communication to improve performance over time.
We’re grateful for everything Pat has contributed to Gentle Giant these past few summers and excited to follow along as he returns to the court and leads his team through this season.
We’re very proud to highlight Patrick White as our Athlete of the Month for August.