Daron Dickerson
Health and Physical Education Major Uses Talents to Become Marketing Manager
Feb 08, 2021
Daron Dickerson graduated from Â鶹ÊÓƵ in 2005 with a degree in Health and Physical Education and a minor in physical activity. He had an initial plan to teach physical education and to be a basketball coach, however Dickerson found his passion in building relationships and realized his purpose outside of the classroom and basketball court.
Dickerson is a marketing manager for D&H Distributing, where he’s been employed for the past ten years. D&H Distributing is a privately held North American Technology distributor to the IT and consumer electronics supply channels. Dickerson manages manufacturers, as they work together to manage budgets and products with the goal of growing customers and sales.
Dickerson said, “My business partner and I are the perfect match—she excels and is amazing with the behind-the-scenes skills, while my strengths lie in the face-to-face interactions.”
Attending Â鶹ÊÓƵ proved to be the foundation for everything that Dickerson has accomplished in his career and adult life. Recruited from Luzerne County Community College (LCCC) for his basketball talent, he was seeking more from college than the chance to play a sport—he was looking for the entire college experience.
“While attending LCCC, I didn’t feel like I was ever going to finish college. At Â鶹ÊÓƵ, I was forced to become a student, and so I turned into a student athlete. At LCCC, I learned that I needed to grow up more quickly, and the things that I thought were a priority at the time, turned out not to be,” Dickerson said.
At Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Dickerson enjoyed the opportunity to experience college life. He enjoyed seeing people in and out of class. He said, “Â鶹ÊÓƵ brought out everything in me—it’s where I met my wife, and, from that union, we have three beautiful children.”
Asked about the challenges he may have experienced as a student, Dickerson said, “I don’t know if I’m downplaying it, but I always looked at everything as an opportunity to meet someone or learn something new. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity that I had, and I wanted to make sure that I maximized all of it.”
Dickerson believes in maximizing each day in every facet, including work, family, hobbies—whatever is motivating—to be the best possible version of oneself.
“My favorite quote is, ‘I’d rather be a lion for a day than a lamb for a lifetime.’ I believe that each of us should be a lion each day—rather than go through the motions, we should have a plan and work that plan, and maximize it to the fullest,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson thought he would follow in his brothers’ footsteps and go to the college that they attended. He entertained a few options, but it was an overnight visit at Â鶹ÊÓƵ that sealed the deal.
Dickerson said, “I arguably had the best time of my life on that overnight visit. The visit was hosted by two of my future teammates—they were to me, on that visit, what I try to be to people when I meet them—welcoming. That experience solidified my decision to attend Â鶹ÊÓƵ.”
At Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Dickerson was a member of the basketball team, did his work study with Housing and Residence Life, became a resident assistant (RA), and served as president of the Black Student Union.
As a resident assistant for two years, Dickerson said, “I grew from being the kid that the RA had to say something to into the person that was giving advice to help students understand the smart path to take.”
Having had different social outlets in college was also something that Dickerson attributes to his success as a student. When asked if he could change anything about his college experience, Dickerson said, “The only thing different that I would have done is I would have come to Â鶹ÊÓƵ sooner. Every student’s dream is to be able to enjoy the college experience.” His advice for prospective students is, “Have no regrets while you’re there. I thoroughly enjoyed myself—What I have today is solely based on college.”
Dickerson remains connected to the basketball affinity group, and he returns every year to play a reunion basketball game. He was inducted into the Pacer Club Humanitarian Club in 2004, but his favorite Â鶹ÊÓƵ memory will forever remain that he and his wife, Erica, were married at their alma mater in the Marian Chapel at the University in 2010.