ELYRIA — Nike won’t name a shoe after him, and he doesn’t make millions flying through the air with a basketball in his hands.

But Dr. Andre Mickel, director of Case Western Reserve University’s post-doctorate endodontic residency program at the School of Dentistry, follows Nike’s mantra of “Just do it” when he speaks to children. He just kids to aim their ambitions at something more than just aspiring to be a pro ball player.

“Dreams are good to have,” he said to a group of Franklin Elementary School students Friday. “But don’t just depend on sports to get you by. You have the capability to do anything you want.”

A man who boasts that he does root canals for a living and ends that phrase with an energetic swoop of his arm is not your traditional role model. But he’s the kind of man students needed to hear from, said Miranda Cunningham-Roscoe, assistant
principal.

“He personifies what I am always telling my students: Education pays off in the end,” she said. “They all want to be ball players, but I want them to look beyond that and know there are other opportunities out there.”

Cunningham-Roscoe knew that Mickel had a story worth telling.

As part of Black History Month, students at Franklin are reading and learning about great black leaders. They got to meet one in person when Mickel walked into the room.

In 1996, Mickel became the first black man and the youngest director of an endodontic residency program in the country.

“I didn’t start out thinking I was there to break any kind of barriers, or even that I should be trying at all because of my race,” he said. “I just decided that if it was something I wanted to do, I was going to do my best at it.”

“That’s why I tell all kids, ‘When you go to college,’ you need to work hard. Notice I don’t say ‘if,’ because I expect everyone to go to college,” he said.

It’s that kind of attitude that motivated former patient Cunningham-Roscoe to seek out the dentist. It took little persuading to get the doctor from the east side of Cuyahoga County to trek west on a cold February day.

“It was a no-brainer,” Mickel said following Friday’s hourlong talk. “Really, I think I get more out of these talks than the kids. I am literally looking at our future in front of my eyes.”

Mickel underestimates his star power.

As the Mickel walked around the room explaining his job, students hung on his every word and were eager to answer any question he threw at them. He came armed with an arsenal of medical terms, new words for most in the room.

During his talk, Mickel weaved in little pearls of wisdom. Going to college, staying away from drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and working hard got him to where he is today and could do the same for students.

Still, many still proclaimed they wanted to be football or basketball players when they grow up. And then the students saw a picture of Mickel’s house — a big, beautiful home with a pool in the backyard.

Their eyes grew big and soon their dreams started to take a whole new direction.

“I want to be my own boss and own my own business,” said one student.

“I want to be a teacher,” said another girl.

“I want to be a pediatrician,” said another boy.

It was just what Mickel wanted to hear.

“This actually gets me high — a good kind of high,” he said. “God blessed me with so much and I feel like I’m almost required to give back.” 

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