What’s next for the Class of 2025: Saiku White

“What’s next for the Class of 2025” is a series that features Lafayette grads—where they’re headed, and the mentors, resources, and experiences that inspired their future path. Stay tuned for more stories throughout May.

(Photo | Adam Atkinson)

By: Kelly Huth

Major: Economics with a minor in Chinese

Destination/future plans: Saiku White ’25 has been invited to the NFL Denver Broncos Rookie Minicamp as an undrafted free agent.

He’s been playing football since he was in third grade—and spent the final months of his senior year in workouts with NFL scouts ahead of the draft. “The waiting is nerve wracking, but it’s a great spot to be in.”

Involvement on campus: Being a student-athlete is no easy feat. Most weeks White, playing safety, logged 20 hours of practice, plus watched films—in addition to game time and travel. But he’s loved every minute. He says the key to balancing a Division I sport and classwork is routine. “That’s the big one—establish that routine around your schedule. Once you get into it, you’ll find those pockets of time that you can maximize.”

After his sophomore year, White was encouraged by his coaches to apply to the Black Student Athlete Summit in Los Angeles. He and three other student-athletes were chosen to represent Lafayette in 2023, and White calls it a highlight of his college career. It offered a chance to listen to speakers, meet pro athletes and NCAA representatives, and share experiences and knowledge with student-athletes from across the country.

Mentors and experiences that mattered most: As far as memories go, on the field it’s hard to top the 2023 football season when Lafayette secured the Patriot League Championship. “That season was tremendous, and it was great to see the camaraderie we had, and how that translated on the field.”

White explained the team started off that season doing a workout with the Marines. “It was brutal—and pushed us to our limits,” he says. But the players knew if they could make it through that training, they could do anything together. After a 28-20 win that September in a rainy game against Monmouth, the team really hit its stride, which propelled them forward the rest of the season. White was a team captain for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In 2023 he was named to the Associated Press All-America Third Team, lauded with All-Patriot League First Team status and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. In 2024 he was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team, was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, slotted on the FCS Football Central Preseason All-America Second Team and Phil Steele Preseason All-America Third Team, selected to the Associated Press FCS All-America First Team Defense and Stats Perform All-America Third Team, and named to the All-Patriot League First Team.

“I’m grateful to the entire coaching staff—they put their faith in me from day one, and I’m so thankful for them,” he says.

In the classroom, White says it was economics professor Rosie Bukics, Jones Professor Emerita, who really shaped and guided him. White took his first economics class with Bukics, she became his adviser, and he took one of her last classes before she retired.

“Her wisdom has really helped me out a lot,” White says. “She’s been instrumental, and I would not have been as successful without her.”

Looking back, the most important piece of advice he can offer to younger students is to put yourself out there and meet new people. “During my free time, I did my best to find people outside football to eat lunch with, to talk with—that’s a critical part of college.

“You have a different perspective than anyone else. Find those commonalities with others and you can develop a lasting relationship.”