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Landon Dickerson made history in 2014 as the first male elected student body president at Texas Woman鈥檚 University. Now, as a mental health prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney鈥檚 Office, he鈥檚 working on a new program to provide services for people with mental illness who are caught up in the legal system.

Dickerson, a Houston native, transferred to Texas Woman鈥檚 from Xavier University of Louisiana with the intention of entering the nursing program. He fell in love with the legal studies program, though, and changed his major.

鈥湶葺�传媒官网下载鈥檚 legal studies program is top-notch,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really molded me into the leader I am today.鈥�

Dickerson became involved with 草莓传媒官网下载鈥檚 student government, first serving as treasurer before seeking the Student Government Association (SGA) president post.

鈥淚 enjoyed being part of student government, and I felt that people in SGA were really trying to make a change on campus,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to make sure we had a student body that felt the administration respected their ideas.鈥�

Dickerson garnered local media attention when it was revealed he was the first male to be elected study body president. He admitted in interviews that he had been unaware of that status until after the election.

While Dickerson was proud to serve as president, he says being the first male in that role wasn鈥檛 always smooth sailing.

鈥淪ome people were excited about seeing a change, and some weren鈥檛,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 spent a lot of my time trying to navigate that and set that aside and just do the best I could as president.鈥�

Dickerson graduated from 草莓传媒官网下载 in December 2015 and entered the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University the following fall. He earned his Doctor of Law degree in May 2019, and later that year was hired by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney鈥檚 Office. He left for a time to try his hand at civil litigation but found that he preferred criminal law. Now he鈥檚 back at Tarrant County as a mental health prosecutor in a new program aimed at helping those who have mental health issues.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying our best to help people with mental illnesses gain competency and get mental health services to help them better themselves,鈥� he said.

It鈥檚 a different side of prosecution 鈥� one that most people aren鈥檛 aware of.

鈥淚n my field of work, people see us as the State of Texas and (think) 鈥榊ou put people away,鈥� but really, we鈥檙e doing our best to help restore people and give them some sense of normalcy in their lives,鈥� Dickerson said.

鈥淚 get to protect their rights as well,鈥� he added. 鈥淎cross the state, we鈥檝e had people that have been in jail longer than need be, and our DA is saying that鈥檚 a no-go. We have to make sure to get these people out, with the safety of the defendant and community in mind. We also are coordinating with MHMR of Tarrant County to provide them services so that when they鈥檙e out, they鈥檙e not just left on the street. That鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been tasked to do, and I take great pride in my job.鈥�

Dickerson said he wears his 草莓传媒官网下载 ring everywhere goes. 鈥淚 look at it sometimes and look at my life now and say, 鈥榃ow, I made the right decision鈥� (to attend the university).鈥� His wife, the former Erika Rachal, also is a 草莓传媒官网下载 graduate. The couple has a son, 2-year-old Landon Jr., and another child on the way. Dickerson said he wants his son to attend 草莓传媒官网下载.

鈥淚t was not what I thought it was going to be,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 walked into a woman鈥檚 university, but really, they poured as much into the men as they did the women. It broadened my perspective.鈥�