“Tolerance leads to cooperation; cooperation leads to unity, and unity leads to progress.”
–Celeste F. Jackson
A couple of years ago I was having a great time conducting a seminar on personalities and thinking styles. During this interactive seminar I used a few of the students as examples. Out of those students, one young lady in particular stood out and the end of the seminar we started talking.
In order to find out if I was really on my game, she challenged me to identify her thinking style. (That’s what I love about Millenials—they are open to new ideas and very skeptical at the same time so you better be on point when dealing with them.)
She gave me a big smile to signal her approval as I identified the correct thinking quadrant for her and then she told me her name: Celeste Jackson.
An outstanding student with an insatiable desire for knowledge and a strong sense of altruism, Celeste has an inspiring story that could never be captured on her impressive resume. Losing both of ones parents is something that would completely derail many people. But in spite of experiencing extreme personal tragedy at such an early age, she continues to excel.
She attends Duke University. She serves on Duke’s board for the Center for Race Relations and is in the school’s marching band. Celeste has been volunteering with America Reads and she recently participated in humanitarian endeavors over the summer in Uganda as a part of the DukeEngage program.
As part of DukeEngage she tutored primary school students in English and she worked in an HIV/AIDS clinic. There is no doubt that Celeste is a strong example of the power of resilience, determination, and the willingness to serve.
But don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself as you take a stroll inside the mind of Celeste Francine Jackson.
Note: This interview took place Feb. ‘08
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED…
Explain to me how you ended up at Duke because when I originally looked at your resume it said you were attending Ursinus College [one of the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the U.S.].
When I initially applied to Duke I didn’t get in. But I did get into the University of Virginia. When I went to visit I didn’t like all that much and I didn’t get a lot of financial aid. Since I was from out of state—I’m from Pennsylvania—it ended up being like $40,000 per year. It wasn’t worth that much money to invest into something I didn’t love.
So, I went to Ursinus College where I got a Towers Scholarship which is an academic scholarship for the four years I would’ve been there which covered more than half of the tuition. But it was stepping stone in the process. I re-applied to Duke and got accepted the second time around. And I got a good financial aid package from them so, it worked out really well.
And you’re headed to London next year—The London School of Economics?
Yes. I just got in recently so, I’m very excited about that.
Congratulations! Are you going into economics?
Actually, I’ll be studying government. I want to be a politician. I want to get into the whole Washington, D.C. scene.
You can really learn a lot from people if
you take the time to understand
their diversity.
their diversity.
THE POWER OF DIVERSITY
Why is diversity so important for success in today’s world and how can we do a better job of helping people to embrace it?
I think diversity is so important because we’re in a diverse society and there’s no way to get around it. You can try to live in a bubble, but the people that you’re doing business with—the people that you’re seeing and interacting with on a daily basis are diverse. Everybody has different things to offer.
You can really learn a lot from people if you take the time to understand their diversity because as Americans most of us are immigrants or were brought here by force or we came here to escape some personal or national conflict. And with these differences comes so many points on which we can learn from each other.
People say—and I agree with them—that we are living in a hegemonic system with the United States being at the top. But it’s slowly beginning to change. So, you’re going to see in the next 25 years that countries like China are going to come and begin to be more dominant and as Americans we’re going to have to be able to embrace that. We’ve got to be able to work with people who come from different cultures.
TOLERANCE IS THE KEY
We need to be tolerant. Tolerance doesn’t mean that we have to totally accept, tolerance means that we can respect someone or something that’s different from what we are or different from what we believe. Tolerance leads to cooperation; cooperation leads to unity and unity leads to progress.
In order to make change happen you have to be able to unite people. You have to have people who are willing to work with you. You have to unite them behind a cause and then you can begin working for the betterment of people. But if you don’t have tolerance, people aren’t going to work together and we won’t be able to progress as a country or a community.
Even now, we see that the African-American and Latino communities are fighting it out and having problems in California and here in Durham, North Carolina because people aren’t focusing enough on trying to find that common ground. They don’t necessarily have to like each other but find that common ground and tolerate each other.
The problem isn’t the two cultures; the problem is the environment in which they are living. You have people fighting for scarce resources instead of working together. In a broader sense, if we [the U.S.] cannot work with other countries we are going to have a lot problems keeping our standard of living.
I don’t see education as an obligation.
I see it as a privilege.
CONFUSED ABOUT KNOWLEDGE
I know that you have pretty much been an academic all-star throughout your scholastic career. What are some things that students can do to become better academically?
I think the biggest problem is the way in which we think about education. Understanding the way in which we think about education is fundamental to how each individual will progress academically.
For instance, some students feel like education is an obligation they have to fulfill rather than having a real desire for the acquisition of knowledge. Many students are confused. They don’t know what they want to do so they just follow suit. Their parents tell them, “go to college because you have to” or “finish this because you have to” rather than the students wanting to.
The problem with thinking this way is that you’re going to do the bare minimum to get by. You’re never going to expand your academic drive and I would argue that you will never realize your full potential.
I don’t see education as an obligation. I see it as a privilege. I would say that this has been one of my motivations in life. I am privileged to have the opportunity to come to Duke to acquire knowledge and to understand life from many different perspectives. This privilege, this opportunity has given me the pathway to greater things.
If we can get students to change the way in which they think about education then they can change the way they approach academics.
The biggest questions that I’ve had about
life have been answered by
understanding and
learning from the
people I’m
helping.
understanding and
learning from the
people I’m
helping.
BORN TO GIVE BACK
I believe that regardless of your career and passion, giving back should be a part of it. What makes community service and volunteerism so important?
I’ve been doing it since I was a little girl. My mom was a social worker. She worked in Trenton, New Jersey which is a pretty rough area. And there’s always a lot of improvement needed. My dad was a psychologist in New York. He worked for the Children’s Village. So, with my mother and my father we were always out there helping people. We were always doing something.
When I went out with them it made me realize how fortunate I was to have to parents who loved me and to be able to go to a school that I really loved. There are just so many opportunities that I have been given and because I’ve had so much I have so much more to share; so much more to give back.
Even if you don’t have a lot you will be surprised that the little you have is a lot more than someone else has and somebody is really going to appreciate it. I think that the biggest questions that I’ve had about life have been answered by understanding and learning from the people I’m helping.
Everybody has a story to tell and those stories are valuable lessons because you can learn from other people’s mistakes. You can learn from other people’s greatness. You can understand everything about life by understanding people and working with them.
I don’t just volunteer because I think it’s something that I have to do. This is something that is very much a part of who I am. I’ve been given so much in life. I’ve had people who helped me so much that it’s the only thing I can think of. I have to give back. I always ask myself, “What more could I do?”
I don’t feel whole if I’m not out there trying to help someone out because if it wasn’t for the help of other people I would not be where I am today. And I always remember that.
I believe that regardless of your career and passion, giving back should be a part of it. What makes community service and volunteerism so important?
I’ve been doing it since I was a little girl. My mom was a social worker. She worked in Trenton, New Jersey which is a pretty rough area. And there’s always a lot of improvement needed. My dad was a psychologist in New York. He worked for the Children’s Village. So, with my mother and my father we were always out there helping people. We were always doing something.
When I went out with them it made me realize how fortunate I was to have to parents who loved me and to be able to go to a school that I really loved. There are just so many opportunities that I have been given and because I’ve had so much I have so much more to share; so much more to give back.
Even if you don’t have a lot you will be surprised that the little you have is a lot more than someone else has and somebody is really going to appreciate it. I think that the biggest questions that I’ve had about life have been answered by understanding and learning from the people I’m helping.
Everybody has a story to tell and those stories are valuable lessons because you can learn from other people’s mistakes. You can learn from other people’s greatness. You can understand everything about life by understanding people and working with them.
I don’t just volunteer because I think it’s something that I have to do. This is something that is very much a part of who I am. I’ve been given so much in life. I’ve had people who helped me so much that it’s the only thing I can think of. I have to give back. I always ask myself, “What more could I do?”
I don’t feel whole if I’m not out there trying to help someone out because if it wasn’t for the help of other people I would not be where I am today. And I always remember that.
I realized that if I don’t make changes
in my life—if I don’t continue to
make goals then I’m
not going to get
anywhere.
WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES
When many people look at your life they see a high achieving, self-motivated, well-spoken young woman who has traveled the world. Your mom was a social worker and your dad was a psychologist. So, people they think that your world is all honky-dory and they don’t realize the challenges you’ve dealt with. Tell me about a challenging experience.
My dad died when I was nine years old. I have three other sisters so there are four of us. At the time one was in college, one was in middle school, and I and my younger sister were in elementary school.
So, it was very difficult for my mom because she had to get two jobs and she worked all the time. She couldn’t spend too much time with us. First, we went to an after school program and then, when we were in middle school, we would just walk home. We learned to be independent very quickly. And we learned that if we had to rely on someone it would have to be ourselves. Our mother couldn’t do it all.
I remember I wanted to leave my school and go to prep school and I talked to my mom about it. She couldn’t afford it. She had four children and there were no favorites in the family. I couldn’t go to that school if my sisters couldn’t go. But once I got accepted into the two schools that I had applied to, my mom got a third job to make it happen for us.
That’s something that I have always appreciated. Watching her work so hard made me work harder because she sacrificed so much for me and my sisters. She’s a social worker and that kind of work is stressful. You don’t get paid as much as you should but, social workers do a lot really important work.
We didn’t get everything we wanted. We got books instead of video games. We weren’t allowed to watch TV all the time. We did go on vacation to Mexico because that was something that my father had loved for us to do and to my mother that was very important.
When I was sixteen my mother got cancer and she passed away as well. That was probably the most difficult thing because my mother and I were very close. She really helped me academically. She was the one who would always say, “It’s okay. If you don’t get the grade you want, it’s okay. You’ll be alright.”
So, then it was kind of like I was on my own. Once my mom died I realized that if I don’t make changes in my life—if I don’t continue to make goals then I’m not going to get anywhere because there’s nobody else out there that can help me at this point.
NEVER ALONE
I went to the Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey. When my mother died they took buses of students to the funeral. There was a sense of community. I still talk to people that lived there that helped me.
Codington also gave me a lot of financial aid which is also something very interesting because the head master made sure that I was able to stay. He made sure that there was money for me to stay at that school. People like Ms. Rossi, my Hall Parent, came together and really helped me out.
So, I can’t say that all of my successes were accomplished on my own. But I can say that the motivation for those successes came from within—knowing that if I wanted something I could get help but, to actually do it would be on me.
I GOT ALL MY SISTERS AND ME
Growing up my parents always told me that your best friends are your sisters. That has been so true. We argued about small things like what to do and where to go next after my mom died but my sisters have really come through for me. My sisters and I have become very close.
When many people look at your life they see a high achieving, self-motivated, well-spoken young woman who has traveled the world. Your mom was a social worker and your dad was a psychologist. So, people they think that your world is all honky-dory and they don’t realize the challenges you’ve dealt with. Tell me about a challenging experience.
My dad died when I was nine years old. I have three other sisters so there are four of us. At the time one was in college, one was in middle school, and I and my younger sister were in elementary school.
So, it was very difficult for my mom because she had to get two jobs and she worked all the time. She couldn’t spend too much time with us. First, we went to an after school program and then, when we were in middle school, we would just walk home. We learned to be independent very quickly. And we learned that if we had to rely on someone it would have to be ourselves. Our mother couldn’t do it all.
I remember I wanted to leave my school and go to prep school and I talked to my mom about it. She couldn’t afford it. She had four children and there were no favorites in the family. I couldn’t go to that school if my sisters couldn’t go. But once I got accepted into the two schools that I had applied to, my mom got a third job to make it happen for us.
That’s something that I have always appreciated. Watching her work so hard made me work harder because she sacrificed so much for me and my sisters. She’s a social worker and that kind of work is stressful. You don’t get paid as much as you should but, social workers do a lot really important work.
We didn’t get everything we wanted. We got books instead of video games. We weren’t allowed to watch TV all the time. We did go on vacation to Mexico because that was something that my father had loved for us to do and to my mother that was very important.
When I was sixteen my mother got cancer and she passed away as well. That was probably the most difficult thing because my mother and I were very close. She really helped me academically. She was the one who would always say, “It’s okay. If you don’t get the grade you want, it’s okay. You’ll be alright.”
So, then it was kind of like I was on my own. Once my mom died I realized that if I don’t make changes in my life—if I don’t continue to make goals then I’m not going to get anywhere because there’s nobody else out there that can help me at this point.
NEVER ALONE
I went to the Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey. When my mother died they took buses of students to the funeral. There was a sense of community. I still talk to people that lived there that helped me.
Codington also gave me a lot of financial aid which is also something very interesting because the head master made sure that I was able to stay. He made sure that there was money for me to stay at that school. People like Ms. Rossi, my Hall Parent, came together and really helped me out.
So, I can’t say that all of my successes were accomplished on my own. But I can say that the motivation for those successes came from within—knowing that if I wanted something I could get help but, to actually do it would be on me.
I GOT ALL MY SISTERS AND ME
Growing up my parents always told me that your best friends are your sisters. That has been so true. We argued about small things like what to do and where to go next after my mom died but my sisters have really come through for me. My sisters and I have become very close.
If you always motivate yourself
towards something then the
world is your oyster.
SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN
Before I let you go, sum up your philosophy about success in 1-3 sentences.
Well, here are two of my favorite quotes. The first one is by Descartes:
“I would also like it to be known that the little that I have learned up until now is almost nothing in comparison to what I do not know and what I have not given up the hope of coming to know.”
I feel like I embody that quote 100%. It’s saying that there is so much that you can learn, there is so much out there that you don’t know. If you always motivate yourself towards something then the world is your oyster.
The second quote is by Bo Jackson—the athlete, “Set your goals high and don’t stop ‘til you get there. “
You always want be optimistic—realistic, but optimistic. The process of going through the journey is what counts.
Well, I don’t where your journey will take you but if it’s running for public office you’ve got my vote! Thanks for giving us a few minutes of your time.
Thank you very much. I enjoyed it. I would also, like to thank the Verrico’s. We’ve been living with them for about three years.
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