THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 82 lines
Tenesha Jackson lives in public housing, namely Calvert Square. Some would suspect, as far as statistics go, that it's just a matter of time before she would either end up on welfare, be an unwed pregnant teen, be strung out on drugs or become a high school dropout.
Her mother was on welfare and it's typical to say that Jackson's life was headed that way. She says it's true. She barely cared about school. She was arrested once. She was belligerent and would fight anybody who even thought of crossing her or her friends. And she took pride in having a tough-girl reputation.
Now, the only tough thing Jackson's concerned with is figuring out how much of the $92,000 worth of scholarships she received will go toward her college education.
``I'm only going to use about $82,000 worth,'' she said. Jackson makes the choices. Whatever amount she won't use will be returned to the organizations that offered it.
And statistics? The only numbers she's concerned with are the two that make up her 3.5 grade point average.
Saturday, Jackson was among 20 students who live in public housing who were honored for graduating. A recent graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Jackson will attend Howard University in Washington this fall.
``Without the scholarships I wouldn't be able to go nowhere,'' Jackson said.
In a semi-formal ceremony at Norfolk State University, the faces of Jackson and her mother, Brenda Jackson, brightened as her name was repeatedly called in recognition of monetary awards. Jackson was offered scholarships from the Army ROTC program, the Norfolk Council of PTAs, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and numerous other organizations.
Jackson was one of about 20 public housing students from Calvert Square, Bowling Green, Diggs Town, Roberts Village and Tidewater Gardens honored for excellence and beating the odds.
U.S. Rep. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, the keynote speaker whose congressional district includes parts of Hampton Roads, told the audience full of relatives, friends and graduates that it was up to them to make a difference.
``You must reverse the tide,'' Scott said. ``You have to overcome these obstacles.''
The obstacles he referred to were homelessness, unemployment and violence.
``We can't afford to lose anybody's potential,'' he said.
As Jackson sat in the banquet hall, she could hardly believe that she was the same person who just a few years ago, hung with a crew of girls who got thrills from beating on other students.
She recalled being arrested at 12 years old for fighting. Acting ``big and bad'' and bullying others on the grounds of Ruffner Middle School was her trademark.
Yet she had dreams like anyone else. Dreams of making a difference, dreams of being somebody and dreams of going to college. To her, all were far-fetched. Her mother was on welfare and had no money to send her to college. Besides, she felt she could never live out those dreams because she had to live up to her belligerent reputation.
``We thought we ran Ruffner. We knew we had to live up to those expectations so that's what we did,'' she said. Trying to live up to her cohorts' expectations almost cost Jackson the sweet success she has now.
Jackson was going nowhere fast, but after getting involved in the Urban League's summer youth program a couple of years ago her life started changing for the better, she said.
Her attitude improved but she admits that she felt incomplete. A close friend introduced Jackson to church. Jackson started to regularly attend until finally she gave her life to Jesus Christ - she got saved. According to her, that's when all her blessings began to flow.
Jackson used her school guidance counselor's help to look for scholarships. She said she simply applied for them by writing essays for some and going through a physical fitness test and a medical exam for the Army scholarship.
``I thank God for scholarships,'' Jackson's mom, Brenda, said. ``She wouldn't have been able to do the things she wanted to do with my little income.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Tenesha Jackson says she once took pride in her tough-girl
reputation and got her thrills intimidating other students. by CNB