Q&A with JA Fellows Alum: Khadejah Jackson

How many years were you in the JA Fellows program?

4 years

What year did you graduate from high school?

2015

 What college do you attend and what's your major and expected graduation year?

University of Oregon, Business major, 2019

Favoritefood?

Almost any soul food dish

What are some of your recent achievements? What is your proudest achievement in life?

Invited to join Business Honors Program, 3.9 GPA, and living independently. Proudest achievement thus far is attending college and being able to manage the changes.

What is the most important thing you took from the JA Fellows program that applies to your life now?

As a business major I am required to take a lot of math classes and business related courses, one of which is BA 101 (Business Admin class like a JA 2.0 in terms of running a mock business). All of the skills (understanding different position roles, monitoring numbers, collaborating, etc.) I learned in JA are reoccurring again for me in many of my courses being a business major.

How do you think the JA Fellows program, in conjunction to what you have learned since leaving the program impacted your career readiness?

I came to college more prepared because of JA. In terms of the classroom, I have a general understanding in my business classes. Socially, I gained a better sense of professionalism and how to interact in large gatherings. Additionally, I learned that college is a major networking opportunity for students to expand beyond the classroom and campus for career opportunities. JA has instilled me with confidence and the ability to network with others, and how to ask others for what I want or need. My JA experience was a true indicator of real life and I see that through my ability to be able to pitch an idea, make myself standout in a crowd, and how to engage in conversation with professionals

Is there anything that you would like us to know or highlight about your life journey?

JA also helped me financially by connecting me with scholarship opportunities which came in handy this year.

Q&A with JA Fellows Alum: Jabari Moore

How many years were you in the JA Fellows program?

I was in JA Fellows for 2 years.

What year did you graduate from high school?

I graduated in 2012.

What college do you attend, what's your major and expected graduation year?

I am currently a senior at University of Georgia majoring in Finance. I will be graduating in May.

Favorite food?

My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.

Tell us your story!

JA played an integral role in my success through the various opportunities to network and learn about entrepreneurship. I was originally planning to be a chef, but through my experience with JA, I learned more about other professions and had access to professionals with tangible experience they could share with me.

Through JA I had the opportunity to do a job shadow with a venture capitalist and that changed the outlook of my professional life. Since graduating from high school and entering college, I have carried my interest for venture capital and entrepreneurship intomy studies and work experience. I've interned at a start-up incubator in Atlanta and a start-up and a venture capital fund in Silicon Valley.

JA was integral in sparking the professional interests I currently have. It is so inspiring to see the next generation of innovators participating in JA programs, and I am looking forward to being a part of their journey.

Q&A with JA Fellows Alum: Allison Burns

How many years were you in the JA Fellows program?

I was in the JA Fellows program for two years.

What year did you graduate from high school?

I graduated from high school in 2015.

What college do you attend, and what's your major and expected graduation year?

I am a part of Howard University’s class of 2019 as a political science and Spanish double major.

Favorite food?

My favorite foods are hot wings and burritos from Willy’s!

What are some of your recent achievements? What is your proudest achievement in life?

I currently attend Howard University on the Founder’s Scholarship, which is a full academic scholarship. I was also recently invited to join Howard’s chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. I also worked with a friend to create the Urban Youth Alliance. This program pairs up college students and high school seniors to provide guidance for the applicants through the college application process. Some of my proudest achievements in life include raising money and serving as an international volunteer with the YMCA international teen program. They also include serving as a translator in a hospital in Pereira, Colombia because I took initiative and stepped outside of my comfort zone in an effort to learn about different cultures and give back to the communities.

What is the most important thing you took from the JA Fellows program that applies to your life now?

The most important things that I took from the JA Fellows program that applies to my life now are organization and business skills. Howard is a school in which you have to be organized and have business and networking skills in order to be successful and I feel that JA prepared me well for this environment.

How do you think the JA Fellows program, in conjunction to what you have learned since leaving the program impacted your career readiness?

The JA Fellows program puts you in a business environment very early, preparing you for the real world. Even though I did not want to go to school for business, the lessons that I learned from the process that I went through with JA prepared me well for career opportunities in general. It prepared me for little things, like knowing what’s appropriate to wear to an interview and how to give presentations in front of large groups of people.