Caroline native to speak at Germanna’s first fall commencement
Posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 3:37 pm
A Caroline County native will be the speaker for Germanna Community College’s first fall commencement ceremony at the Fredericksburg Expo Center at 7 p.m. Monday
The college is planning its first fall commencement because of rapid growth. Students who have completed degree requirements following the summer 2011 and fall 2011 semester have been invited to participate. Germanna will continue to hold its traditional May commencement.
The ceremony on Monday is open to anyone who would like to attend. No tickets are necessary.
The Expo Center accommodates up to 2,500, but GCC has seen overflow crowds at the last few May commencement ceremonies.
When last year’s event set a record with over 1,000 degrees and certificates awarded, it became clear that the college was outgrowing a facility that had been chosen due to its large size. GCC has been one of the fastest-growing colleges in Virginia over the last five years.
The commencement speaker will be Kevin Jackson, 31, of Richmond. Jackson is director of respiratory care, pediatric pulmonary, and the pulmonary lab at St. Mary’s Hospital.
As a child growing up in rural Caroline, he was always a dreamer, Jackson said. The oldest of three siblings, he endured the loneliness of a childhood separated from a single mother struggling to care for her children.
By the age of 17, Jackson was working three jobs, providing for his siblings, as well as excelling on the Caroline High School track team. He was a mediocre student who did not apply himself to his maximum potential, he recalled.
Jackson, who graduated from Caroline High School in 1999, credited his exposure to Saturday barbershop debates, ranging from sports to politics, with kindling his desire to learn.
After graduating from Caroline High School, Jackson enrolled at Germanna Community College and excelled. He learned about an incentive being offered by the Medical College of Virginia in conjunction with J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College that paid for students’ education, and he transferred and received an A.A.S. degree in respiratory therapy.
He enrolled at VCU while working full-time at St. Mary’s Hospital as a registered respiratory therapist and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. Working in the healthcare environment opened his eyes to the challenges facing America’s health care system.
Jackson also has earned an MHA degree from Seton Hall University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health Policy at Walden University.
His education has given him an understanding of how public health policy impacts the lives of people, especially the disadvantaged, said Jackson.
He lives with his wife, Courtney, and their son, Dallas.
