Pepperdine University Athletics

From the 2018 Hall of Fame program:

Marilyn White, one of the first women to earn an athletic scholarship to Pepperdine, is a former Olympic medalist who spent decades teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
 
White was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Bishop Conaty Memorial High School in 1962. During her high school days, a track coach discovered her at a dance class and invited her to join the L.A. Mercurettes team.
 
She attended the Los Angeles Invitational at the L.A. Sports Arena as a fan in 1962, and was inspired by what she saw. After a year of hard work, she returned in January 1963 as a competitor. White had the opportunity to run against her hero, Wilma Rudolph, and defeated the former Olympic champion in the 60 meters, taking first place and tying Rudolph’s meet record of 6.9 seconds. White was named Athlete of the Meet after the showing.
 
At the 1963 Pan American Games, she won the bronze medal in the 100 meters and a gold medal in the 4x100 relay. At the 1963 AAU Indoor Championships, she set the meet record in the 220 yards with a time of 24.8 seconds.
 
White made the U.S. Olympic team for the 1964 Tokyo Games. She brought back a silver medal after running the third leg on the 4x100 relay team. White also placed fourth in the 100 meters, though she had the same time (11.6 seconds) as the runners that finished second and third.
 
The Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper named her its Woman of the Year in 1964.
 
White had begun her college career at UCLA in 1963, and was elected freshman vice president. In 1965, she transferred to Pepperdine after being one of several international track stars who were offered an athletic scholarship. This came at a time when Pepperdine had not yet established a full women’s athletics program. Still, she represented the Waves at various high-level meets.
 
White graduated from George Pepperdine College with a degree in physical education in 1967, and immediately began a primary school teaching career that lasted nearly 40 years. She spent one year in Washington, D.C., before returning to Los Angeles for good. She spent her longest period of time teaching at Miles Elementary School.
 
She also earned a master’s degree in education from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1973. White taught kindergarten and first and second grade. She later earned a bilingual certificate so that she could also teach English to her Spanish-speaking students and their parents.
 
She continued to compete in masters running competitions through the 1980s and ran in several L.A. Marathons.
 
White has enjoyed many other interests over the years, including golf, bowling, jewelry making, genealogy and motivational speaking. An excellent singer who is a long-time participant in her church choir, White sang the National Anthem at many prominent events. She was one of the torch bearers during the 1996 Olympics torch relay.
 
She lives in Inglewood and has two sons, Leon Leroy Milligan, Jr. and Tony Lee Knight.