the Jackson Grown Leader Fellowship brings together a select group of high school seniors for mentor investment, skills development, network building and knowledge growth during the critical final years of high school. It is designed to give each Fellow a personalized leg up for their next stages of learning and advancement.
The Jackson Grown program is financially supported by the Leaders Education Foundation
We work together with a wide range of public, private and non-profit partners in the community.
Principles
Community
Jackson Grown understands that the Jackson Community goes beyond the “welcome to” and “come again” signs. It is grounded on a group of individuals with strong ties to Jackson and a deep appreciation for the town as their starting place.
Diversity
Jackson Grown believes strongly in the importance of encouraging diversity and enabling a range of communities to grow together. It is centered on finding ways to ensure that the importance of diversity is both recognized and actively fostered at all levels of the community.
Opportunity
Jackson Grown recognizes the power of public schools and is committed to reinforcing the incredible contribution that a strong public school system can have at both the local, regional, national and global levels.
“We are eager to explore the unique gift that Jackson has to offer the world through the heads, hands, and hearts of the people that have called it home.”
About the program
The Jackson Grown Leader Fellowship began in the Fall of 2021. For the Jackson community within and outside the city limits, it centers on two core ideas: the need to invest forward and the opportunity to reinvest back. Building on those ideas, it is structured around three objectives:
UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY | Launching ideas | BUILDING NETWORKS
For the twelve selected high school juniors and seniors who take part, the program includes in-depth discussions each week with local and global leaders who represent many passionate, rebellious and humble individuals from Jackson leading in a variety of ways in a variety of places.
These are discussions, not lectures. Leaders and students speak as equals and as members of the same community. They offer perspectives inaccessible to the other, both for the student and the established professional.
Those insights are brought together at the end of the spring semester with a speech by each student at the Annual Challenge to the City. This is a TEDx-style presentation in which Fellows identify a local challenge in Jackson-Madison County and imagine what solutions could look like. Seniors also publish articles in the Our Jackson Home magazine on the challenge which he or she has addressed.
Finally, the program has begun building a broad network of Jackson community members and is based on the willingness of respected individuals across a wide range of areas to serve as professional mentors to each of the Jackson Grown Fellows depending on their academic or professional interests.
The Fellows
We seek to make tailored investments for long-term impact on individuals’ lives. We recognize that there are many kinds of “smart” and many kinds of “success”. Our objective is to look for the incredible, unique strengths in individuals that might be overlooked by traditional measures or tests. We look for high-potential, well-rounded future leaders with a broad range of skills, interests and aspirations. We recognize that the best among us are often hidden.
The ideal student for the Jackson Grown Leader Fellowship will seek students who demonstrate
Potential | Passion | Positivity | Cooperation | Curiosity | Communication | Resilience | Adaptability
The Crew
The Jackson Grown Crew is composed of both Local and Global Leaders who have close ties to the Jackson Madison County public schools and have notable accomplishments in their respective areas of work. They represent individuals with a heart for serving and have a demonstrated interest working towards positively impacting society whether at the local or global levels. Each Jackson Grown Crew Member has committed to taking part in open discussion with the Fellows regarding their careers and how they have sought to impact the world around them. Some are matched with students based on specified interests, objectives and needs of the students. It is a group recruited and divided based on academic, professional and experiential backgrounds that can help the Fellows learn more about the paths for pursuing their interests at the different stages of a career. Each mentor remains loosely “on call” for advice, counseling and guidance throughout their time as Jackson Grown Leader Fellows.
JOSH MILLER
Global Crew, Singer, Songwriter
JCM / Liberty
Heather Larsen
Global Crew, Pro Slackliner and Financial Analyst, North Side High School
summer nichols
Local Mentor, Marketing Executive, Board Member and Jackson Chamber Emissary
Lauren Pritchard (LOLO)
Global Crew, Singer, songwriter, actress and advocate of RIFA and WRAP.
Julia Ewoldt
Local Crew: Journalist Jackson Post and former Reporter WBBJ
BOBO SHELTON
Local Mentor, Clinical Technician, Detox West TN
Drew Sutton
Global Crew, MLB Player, Business Owner
North Side
carita cole
Local Mentor, West Tennessee Legal Services, Rapper and Performer
Danielle jones
Local Mentor, Commander of Investigative Services at JPD, North Side High School
Marh Beth Propes
Skills Coach, Student Assistant for Institutional Advancement, Union
tosh newman
Local Mentor, Singer, songwriter and performer; graduate of Jackson Central Merry High School
lizzie emmons
Program Director, Our Jackson Home
Wakeema Hollis
Global Crew, Actress, Model, Advocate
Jackson-Central Merry
Greg Perry Jr.
Local Mentor, Social Worker and Probation Officer, JCM
OLIVIA ABERNATHY
Local Mentor,Director, Early Education Initiatives United Way West TN, Union
Sam Tilleros
Skills Coach, Runner, Writer and Coach, Madison Academic
Pautez Freeman
Peer Mentor: Student, University of Memphis at Lambuth; 2021 - 2022 Jackson Grown Leadership Fellow
Read more
Jackson Grown is a collection of stories written by Jon Mark Walls about folks who grew up in Jackson and are taking their West Tennessee experiences into various worldwide careers.
