DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Latesia Jackson
Latesia Jackson
When Latesia Jackson was in 4-H as a child, she never imagined she would one day be responsible for the same program.
After previously working as a Dental Assistant, Jackson was taking nursing classes when she heard about the position for Extension Program Assistant in Walthall County.
“When I was visiting the office, the secretary told me about the job, and we actually joked about me applying,” Jackson said. “Then I got the notion to apply and thought I’d try it for a while if I was offered the position. Sure enough, I accepted, and the rest is history.”
Jackson is responsible for organizing various 4-H and after school programs, including the “Welcome to the Real World!” program which is an active, hands-on, real-life simulation designed to help young people learn about the financial obligations adults face on a daily basis.
Many of the workshops she teaches are about time management, and she is able to help high school students with managing busy schedules packed with school, sports, church, and family activities. A leadership workshop Jackson is looking forward to implementing is a “Superhero within You.”
“The workshop is about being your own hero,” Jackson said. “The objective is for kids to realize that it’s okay to fail in a given situation, but you have to learn to take initiative to take a different approach. A teacher in the Tylertown GED program approached me about coming to teach it to her students, and I’m looking forward to that.”
Jackson’s son, Gregory, will be old enough to join 4-H next year.
“To see him learn valuable life skills and grow as an individual will be exciting. I can’t wait for him to get more involved. I was a 4-H’er under Mrs. Edith Carter Butler,” Jackson said. “And now I actually sit at the same desk that she sat at during her tenure as 4-H agent. Everything that I am as a professional Extension employee -- I owe it all to her.”
Editor's note: The Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Spotlight Employee profiles are provided by the Office of Agricultural Communications at Mississippi State. For more information, please click here.
