Talk about a full-circle family moment!
Jade DeMelody Jackson is a journalist with The Indianapolis Star. A regular content creator across social media, Jackson recently took to Instagram to announce that she was returning to college as an official MBA candidate at Jarvis Christian University. A worthy accomplishment for any scholar, Jackson’s return to the classroom was personally noteworthy as Jarvis University happens to be the historically Black college her great-grandfather founded more than a century prior.
“‘I’m an official MBA candidate doing Jarvis Christian University’s program this fall semester. So, it’s back to school for me at the same HBCU my great-grandfather, Thomas Buchanan Frost, founded in 1912,” Jackson wrote on Instagram.
According to Jarvis Christian University, the college began as Jarvis Christian Institute, affiliated with the Negro Disciples of Christ and modeled after the Southern Christian Institute in Edwards, Mississippi. Mrs. Mary Alphin helped spur the development of the school, launching a fundraiser in partnership with the Christian Woman’s Board of Missions, with the sole goal of opening a school for Black youth. When the doors opened in January 1913, with an enrollment of twelve students, Southern Christian Institute graduates Thomas Buchanan Frost and Charles Albert Berry served as founders and the school’s first-ever Superintendent and Principal, respectively.
This Juneteenth I recognize my great grandfather, Thomas Buchanan Frost who founded Jarvis Christian College in 1912, a private HBCU in Hawkins, TX #JuneteenthDay 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/pzMDoe1Jt6
— The Jade DéMelody (@THEJADEDEMELODY) June 19, 2020advertisement
What started out as a small elementary school in Hawkins, Texas, has grown into an esteemed century-old historically Black institution dedicated to preparing “a diverse population of lifelong learners” through their guiding principles of scholarship, service, integrity, respect, responsibility, and Christian ethics. Last year, Jackson’s family created the Frost-Briggs Legacy Fund to award scholarships to undergraduate students at Jarvis University. Now, the burgeoning journalist joins those students to carry on her family’s rich history.
“It’s truly an honor to continue my family’s heritage of excellence and greatness at the same place we’re proud to contribute to…For me to be a student myself now is truly humbling,” wrote Jackson.
Cover photo: MBA Student Set to Graduate From University Her Great Grandfather Founded in 1912/Photo credit: @TheJadeDemelody/Instagram