My dad always told me that I was going to college and that he wanted me to be better than him. He would tell me the story of when he was at Jackson State and how he wasn’t a 3.0 student when he first got here. After seeing what he had to go through to make it to where he is now, he didn’t want me to go through the same thing. So, my parents pushed my sisters and me through school. I just think that they didn’t want us to go down a road that wasn’t going to advance our lives or make our journeys easier.
I transferred to Jackson State. My old school just wasn’t what I wanted for a college. It wasn’t what I thought I would see. When I came to Jackson State, I saw what I thought that I should see – the band, the football games, the morale, student leaders, and also the different opportunities that I have as a student through the College of Business. My experience at Jackson State has been awesome. I think that Jackson State has prepared me to go into the business world and use the skills that I have learned and the life skills that I have gained.
Everybody doesn’t have that extra push to continue to go through life and make a difference, whether it is within the community or within their lives. When I go back home, people always ask me to speak because I have a great story to tell. I came here as a transfer student, got in the College of Business during my sophomore year, and received an internship with KPMG, thanks to my professor. I became a student leader during my junior year, and now I’m the SGA vice president. I think that that’s a positive story. And, having the opportunity to talk to people about the seriousness of going to college is great. I want them to know what it is to be an African American in college and to understand that you don’t have to be a statistic.
My parents are very proud. They’re waiting for me to walk across that stage and be another Jackson State alum.”
– Isaac, senior accounting major from St. Louis, Missouri
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