SARAH JACKSON: “Brace yourself for failure and hardship. It’s a necessary ingredient for success.”
Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
Sarah Jackson, vice president for strategy and public affairs for the nonprofit Dallas Citizens Council, was a 2019 Advocate Fierce Female and here she offers fierce advice. Jackson appeared in the George H.W. Bush documentary “41 on 41”. A 2011 graduate of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, Jackson served stints as a press secretary in the U.S. House of Representatives and a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of State. She calls herself an anomaly — the rare African-American Republican who is also Catholic. Jackson is a member of and eucharistic minister at Christ the King Catholic Church.
How are you coping during the pandemic? By finding new ways to stay connected with people, exercise, and adapt to our new normal.
As inspiration for the Class of 2020, tell us what you thought when you graduated high school. When I was graduating from Mesquite High School in 2000, I thought I’d be a national TV reporter changing the world by broadcasting the news of the nation and our world. My career path has evolved into a position I wasn’t aware of in high school and I’m doing something that’s an ideal combination of my strengths, talents, and interests.
If you could go back in time to your high school graduation, what advice would you have for yourself? Brace yourself for failure and hardship. It’s a necessary ingredient for success. The disappointment you’ve experienced in this senior year will be an important milestone in your life journey. Take heart, because the best is truly yet to come.
