Personality

If you’re seeking a candidate with an unwavering commitment to success, a unique perspective on problem-solving, and a strong sense of accountability, Jackson is the ideal choice for you. With a natural inclination towards creative thinking, Jackson consistently explores innovative solutions to even the most complex challenges. His disciplined work ethic and sense of responsibility ensure that he always meets deadlines and exceeds expectations.

Moreover, Jackson is an incredibly adaptable and versatile individual who thrives in dynamic environments. He possesses a remarkable ability to learn quickly, absorb new information, and translate it into actionable results. Additionally, he approaches problems with a strategic mindset and exercises patience to understand the nuances of the situation, thereby enabling him to create sustainable, long-term solutions.

• Determined
• Patient
• Flexible

Jackson believes that diversity is not just about race, gender, sexual orientation, or ability, but rather, it is about the challenges that people have overcome. As an intern at Victory Junction, a camp for children with special needs, Jackson had the privilege of experiencing true diversity firsthand. At the camp, he encountered a diverse group of campers, volunteers, and staff who hailed from all walks of life, including various socio-economic backgrounds, geographic regions, ages, and sexual orientations.

What made Victory Junction truly diverse, in Jackson’s eyes, was the fact that every individual at the camp had faced and overcome significant struggles. From the staff and volunteers to the campers themselves, everyone had a story to tell. Jackson will always remember the poignant moments he witnessed, such as a wheelchair-bound camper riding a horse for the first time, counselors assisting a girl with no arms to paint with her feet, or an older volunteer helping a quad amputee camper enjoy the pool.

For Jackson, true diversity lies in recognizing and celebrating the unique life experiences and challenges that people face. By acknowledging and embracing these differences, we can create a more inclusive and equitable world for everyone.

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, is Jackson’s role model. As a follower of stoicism, Jackson has studied the works of Epictetus and Seneca, but it is the writings of Marcus Aurelius that resonate with him the most. Jackson admires Marcus Aurelius because he outlines in his book the ideal way for an individual to lead their life and interact with the world.

The teachings of stoicism, as embodied by Marcus Aurelius, have provided Jackson with the strength and resilience to persevere through some of the most challenging periods of his life. For this reason, he looks up to Marcus Aurelius as a guiding light in his own journey towards self-improvement and personal growth. By living in accordance with the principles espoused by Marcus Aurelius, Jackson strives to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life, while contributing to the betterment of the world around him.

Jackson’s greatest strength is his flexibility and adaptability. What sets Jackson apart is his ability to make it appear as though there was never a disruption in the first place. He approaches each new situation with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn and grow. This adaptability has served him well in both his personal and professional life, allowing him to succeed in the face of adversity and thrive in a variety of settings.

Moreover, Jackson is also adept at pivoting and adapting to new roles, responsibilities, and environments. With his strong work ethic and can-do attitude, Jackson is always willing to take on new challenges and push himself to new heights. His flexibility, combined with his determination and creativity, makes him a valuable asset to any team or organization.

Jackson’s greatest weakness is his tendency to be overly persistent. While his determination and patience are undoubtedly strengths, they can also lead him to pursue a goal long past the point where it is no longer viable.

Despite this weakness, Jackson recognizes the importance of balancing persistence with adaptability. He is constantly working to improve his ability to recognize when it is time to pivot and try a new approach. Jackson understands that sometimes the most successful path forward is not the most direct, and he is committed to learning and growing from his experiences.

Overall, Jackson’s persistence is a double-edged sword. With his self-awareness and willingness to adapt, Jackson is well-positioned to turn this weakness into a strength.

Jackson’s greatest professional / academic achievement was graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill as the top student in his department. As a first-generation college student, this accomplishment was particularly meaningful to him and his family.

Jackson’s dedication and hard work throughout his time at UNC-Chapel Hill paid off in the form of academic success. His commitment to excellence earned him not only high grades, but also recognition from the faculty of the School of Journalism and Media. Being selected to receive the school’s highest honor was a true testament to Jackson’s exceptional skills and work ethic.

Beyond the personal significance of this achievement, Jackson recognizes that it has opened doors for him professionally. His academic success has helped him stand out in a competitive job market and has given him the confidence to pursue his goals with determination and focus.

Despite this accomplishment, Jackson remains humble and grateful for the opportunities that have come his way. He knows that his success is the result of hard work, but also acknowledges the support and guidance he has received from mentors, professors, and family members along the way. With this perspective and his continued commitment to excellence, Jackson is well-prepared for continued success in his academic and professional pursuits.

Jackson’s greatest non-professional / academic achievement is having one of his photographs turned into a mural at his local mall. This achievement is particularly meaningful to him because it marks the first time his work has been displayed publicly in a well-trafficked area. The photo selected for the mural featured Victory Junction, a camp for children with special needs that Jackson had interned at in 2018 and 2019. The photo captured the camp’s landmarks, campers, and activities in one wide-angle shot. Seeing his work displayed in such a prominent way has given Jackson a great sense of pride and confidence in his photography skills, and has inspired him to continue pursuing his passion for photography.

Jackson believes that life is unpredictable, and therefore, he sees himself in 5, 10, 15, or 20 years wherever he can make a meaningful impact. He understands that his goals and aspirations may change over time, and he is open to exploring new opportunities that align with his values and purpose.

In the short term, Jackson hopes to continue to grow in his career and gain more experience in his field. In the medium term, he envisions himself in a leadership position where he can make a positive impact on his community and beyond. In the long term, Jackson aspires to create something meaningful that will benefit society in a significant way, whether that is through his profession or his personal endeavors.

While Jackson is aware that the future is uncertain, he is committed to his personal and professional growth and looks forward to whatever opportunities and challenges may come his way.

Jackson’s primary motivation in life is to be a positive force for good. He finds fulfillment in helping others and making a positive impact, whether it’s through his work or his personal interactions. Jackson believes that small acts of kindness and empathy can go a long way in making the world a better place. He is driven by a desire to be a role model for others and to inspire them to follow their own passions and make a difference in the world. Ultimately, Jackson’s motivation is rooted in a deep sense of purpose and a commitment to living a meaningful life.

Jackson has faced conflict on several occasions, but one that stands out to him was during his freshman year at UNC-CH when he had a difficult living situation with his roommate. Jackson’s diplomatic nature made him attempt to find middle ground and reach a compromise with his roommate. However, despite his best efforts, his roommate refused to negotiate and disregarded any agreements made.

Jackson sought the help of a residential advisor to mediate the situation, but even with their assistance, the conflict could not be resolved. Eventually, Jackson realized that compromise was impossible, and he requested to be moved to another dorm. After the separation, Jackson and his former roommate were able to get along with each other.

This experience taught Jackson the importance of finding a mediator when facing conflict and accepting that sometimes compromise cannot be reached. He also learned that if the other party is unwilling to compromise, it’s essential not to concede too much and stand up for one’s needs.

During the 2018 college football season, Jackson was starting his first football season as a film manager with the UNC Football team. During the spring off-season, Jackson had proven himself to be a competent and skilled camera operator and was trusted with capturing footage for the coaches to review post practice and games. Before the UNC v. Syracuse game in Syracuse, NY, Jackson was asked to fill in for the full time staff member responsible for capturing footage on-field for marketing purposes. Jackson happily accepted the new and increased responsibilities, but was unprepared for ambiguity of the role. In fact, Jackson had never seen what the full time staff member he was filling in for does or know what kind of footage he was supposed to capture. 

Jackson traveled with the team for his first time to the Syracuse game and was given vague and ambiguous instructions as to his role which were little more than “get video of the game.” Well, no kidding. The first quarter, Jackson struggled to figure out what he was supposed to do and where he was allowed to be on the field. It was stressful. Being on a college football field on game day is intimidating with the number of eyes watching you, the rules you have to obey, where you can be and when, and not to mention the threat of immediate ejection from the venue if you break a rule. After the first quarter, Jackson began to mimic the actions of the professional videographers on field. He figured that he might not know what to do, but those guys surely do. Sure enough, by half time he was getting into the rhythm of the role and gaining a better understanding of what he was supposed to do. 

By the end of the game, Jackson had a thorough understanding of what was expected of him and how to achieve it. When he returned to Chapel Hill, the full time staff member he filled in for said that being his first time in the role, he did excellent and captured some amazing shots.

What Jackson learned from the experience was that when in an ambiguous situation or unsure of what to do, follow what those with more experience are doing and mimic them until you understand the situation and then carve your own path.

In February of 2020, Jackson was the Audio/Visual Lead for an event called “Viet-Nite.” As Lead for the event, Jackson was responsible for the supervision of audio/visual staff, was the liaison between audio/visual staff and the event’s host, and responsible for the professional execution of all audio/visual needs for the event. Viet-Nite was a Vietnamese cultural show and it was the first time the event was held at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Before the event started, the event host informed Jackson that they would like to play the United States national anthem and then the Vietnamese national anthem before the event started. No specifics were given by the event host and Jackson did ask any further questions; to him, it was a simple and clear request. Jackson and his assistants were able to find both national anthems and add them to the event run-of-show.

As the event starts, Jackson is backstage acting as the stage director and informing his assistants what performance is up next and what songs, visuals, or lights they requested. The event’s master of ceremonies walks on stage and asks the audience to please rise for the national anthems of both the United States and Vietnam. All the audience members rise, place their hand over their hearts and listen to the U.S. national anthem. After the U.S. National finishes, the Vietnamese national anthem starts. However, after a few seconds of playing the Vietnamese national anthem, the master of ceremonies and the audience begin to laugh. It was at this time, the event host came running up to Jackson and excitedly yelling at him to turn off the music. Jackson relays the order to the tech booth for the music to stop and proceeds to ask the event host what was wrong. She replies “that is the communist anthem, we are South Vietnam.” Jackson later learned that Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte, NC, still recognize South Vietnam as a country and that there is a large concentration of people who fled South Vietnam before its takeover and now live in North Carolina. It was later learned that no one in the event services department was aware that Viet-Nite was a celebration of South Vietnamese culture; everyone assumed it was a celebration of present day Vietnam culture.

After the national anthem incident, the rest of the event ran perfectly. The awkward situation came after the event  when Jackson approached the event host to apologize for the incident. This was an awkward situation because Jackson was afraid that he may have offended the event host or members of the audience. Initially, Jackson was hesitant to mention the incident and instead asked her to fill out a survey about her overall experience with Carolina Union. After a quick unrelated discussion, Jackson attempted to bring up the anthem mix up. After Jackson apologized to the event host, she laughed and told him not to worry about it. She said that in hindsight, it was not clear that they were South Vietnam and offered her own apologies for the confusion.

Later, Jackson and the audio/visual manager drafted new event protocols which required the audio/visual staff to run all audio and video through the event host before the start of show. As a result of the incident, Jackson is now more thorough in asking questions when there is or potentially is ambiguity.

Mistakes are great learning experiences. While Jackson tries very hard not to make them, he has come to recognize that sometimes you just make a bad call. 

In the spring of 2019, Jackson took a history of air power class taught by an instructor named Joseph Caddell (Professor Caddell.) Professor Caddell quickly became one of Jackson’s favorite instructors due to his teaching style, approachable personality, and by the material he taught.

The class had only three grades for the entire semester: a 15 page dialectic essay, a midterm, and a final. The problem was that, at the time, Jackson did not know what a dialectic essay was. From Google searches, Jackson concluded that a dialectic essay was an argument that featured at least three different views on the subject. He did not understand that it actually meant three opposing views on the subject.

Unaware of his misconception, Jackson researched and wrote his essay on why the Messerschmidt 262 was the deadliest aircraft of World War Two and included the perspectives of Allied airmen, German Lufwaffe pilots, and concentration camp survivors who manufactured the plane. Jackson considered the essay to be one of, if not, his best academic essay. When grades were released for the essay, Jackson was horrified to see that his paper had received a 57/100. After waiting 24 hours before inquiring about his grade to collect himself, Jackson was able to meet with Professor Caddell to discuss why he received such a low grade. Professor Caddell informed him that his teaching assistant graded the paper and that he would need time to read it over and consider re-grading it. The following class, Jackson met with Professor Caddell after class to ask about his paper. Professor Caddell handed Jackson back his paper and informed him that the grade was correct given the rubric because the paper was not a true dialectic essay. However, Professor Caddell also told Jackson that he would drop the grade from his final grade calculations and give more weight to the midterm and final because his essay was one of the best he’s read on the topic and not reflective of the grade. Professor Caddell actually asked Jackson for another copy of the essay to keep in his personal collection.

What Jackson learned from this lesson was the importance in keeping calm in a situation and to not make assumptions based off of Google searches. The incident as a whole could have been avoided if Jackson had merely asked Professor Caddell what a dialectic essay was. Also, by keeping calm, Jackson most likely helped his situation be resolved in a beneficial way. If he had approached Professor Caddell in an aggressive or belligerent way regarding his grade, he may have been stuck with the disappointing mark.

When Jackson was working with Carolina Week as a Multimedia Journalist back in March of 2020, he, and a colleague, Mihaly, were working on a broadcast story covering the results of the 2020 Super Tuesday primaries and the preceding political rallies. The key thing to note was that Carolina Week’s broadcast was at 9:00 AM Wednesdays. Jackson and Mihaly had less than 24 hours to produce a story, turn it around, and package it for air.

In the week leading up to Super Tuesday, Jackson and Mihaly traveled across North Carolina covering the political rallies of Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Bernie Sanders, and Mike Bloomberg.  Jackson and Mihaly appeared to have all their “ducks in row” over the weekend leading up to Super Tuesday; that was until President Donald Trump on short notice decided to hold a rally the night before Super Tuesday in Charlotte. Not only did President Trump’s last minute rally cause Jackson and Mihaly to have to rewrite their entire news story, but the pair also did not return to Chapel Hill until well into the morning hours of Super Tuesday and got little to no sleep.

Despite their lack of sleep, Jackson and Mihaly expected to stay up in the station until midnight to get the results of Super Tuesday and finish their new story to be aired the next morning. The problem was that at 4:00 AM, which was the last time the pair saw the time, the Associated Press had not called the results conclusive. When the station manager, Dr. Tuggle, came in at 6:00 AM to prepare for the broadcast, he found Jackson and Mihaly asleep at their desks.

After Dr. Tuggle woke Jackson and Mihaly up, they discovered that the Associated Press had still not called the results. With little alternative, and time quickly running away, Jackson and Mihaly decided to produce three different versions of their story; one for if the Associated Press called the results in favor of Joe Biden, one for if the Associated Press called the results in favor of Bernie Sanders, and one for if the Associated Press still did not call the results.

Thirty minutes before the broadcast aired, the Associated Press called the results in favor of Joe Biden and Jackson and Mihaly had a new story for the broadcast. However, in the story, the piece mentioned Mike Bloomberg as still being in the race. While the show was live and Jackson and Mihaly’s story was on, Mike Bloomberg’s press team sent an email to media notifying that he was ending his Presidential candidacy. Jackson and Mihaly were able to change the teleprompter fast enough so the anchors could report that Mike Bloomberg had dropped out. It is believed that thanks to Jackson and Mihaly, Carolina Week was one of, if not the first, television news broadcast the break the news that Mike Bloomberg had dropped out.

What this story demonstrates is the incredible lengths Jackson will go to ensure that he meets deadlines and to ensure the accuracy of the information he presents. Jackson will always work to meet his deadlines on time and that the work he presents is to the best of his ability.

People often tell Jackson that he is too hard on himself. He holds himself and his work to a very high standard and does everything in his power to reach it. Criticism arises because Jackson’s standards are usually well above expectations.

Jackson understands that criticism is a natural part of growth and improvement. He doesn’t take it personally, but rather sees it as an opportunity to learn and improve. He listens carefully to the feedback given, evaluates it objectively, and takes the necessary steps to make adjustments where necessary. Jackson doesn’t let criticism discourage him or affect his self-esteem. Instead, he uses it as a motivation to become better at what he does.

Jackson also knows the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. He acknowledges that some people may give criticism for reasons other than wanting to help him improve, but rather to bring him down. In such cases, he doesn’t dwell on the negativity and instead focuses on the constructive feedback.

Overall, Jackson sees criticism as a tool for growth and improvement. He handles it with maturity and uses it to his advantage to become the best version of himself.

While Jackson values praise, he does not let it inflate his ego or distract him from his goals. He understands that receiving praise is a result of hard work and dedication and not something to be taken for granted. Jackson also recognizes the importance of acknowledging others who have helped him achieve success and gives credit where it is due. He remains grounded and focused on his work, always striving to improve and achieve even greater success in the future.

As a general rule, to quote Adam Savage, Jackson believes that “failure is always an option.”

Jackson’s perspective on failure is quite healthy and positive. He understands that failure is not the end, but a chance to learn and try again. This mindset is crucial for personal growth and success in any endeavor. By embracing the possibility of failure, Jackson is able to take risks and explore new opportunities without the fear of making mistakes. He sees failure as a natural part of the learning process and doesn’t let it discourage him from pursuing his goals. This approach allows Jackson to view setbacks as opportunities for growth and improvement, rather than as obstacles to be avoided.

Jackson thrives in situations where his supervisors take the time to provide him with constructive feedback about his performance. This allows him to know that he is on the right track. Jackson also appreciates it when they have an “open door” policy where their staff feel encouraged to approach them about issues.