Dr. Shenika Jackson, born and raised in Chicago’s Englewood Community, is an advocate for minority high school students and working adults.
In 2016, Dr. Jackson created a college-readiness project called: My College Going Self, a project designed to assist high school students with the transition from high school to post-secondary education. The project started as a “pilot” project that was implemented to high school students for the first time in the Englewood Community at Kelly Branch Library. In May 2017, the My College Going Self Project, became apart of MY Foundation: Street Smarts to Great Starts Corp.
In June 2018, Dr. Shenika Jackson completed a PhD in Community Psychology from National Louis University. She was also the recipient of The Mohammed Megahed Scholarship, a scholarship awarded by National Louis University’s President Nivine Megahed. Her dissertation: African American Males and Academic Achievement: Understanding the Challenges Transitioning From High School to Higher Education, captures the barriers young black males face as they navigate the educational system.
Dr. Jackson holds other degrees to include a Master’s of Science-Written Communications (2009), and a Master’s of Arts-Psychology/Human Development (2005), from National Louis University. In March 2020, Dr. Jackson was offered employment in the Englewood Community, with a nonprofit organization: Growing Home. As Case Management Coordinator, Dr. Jackson works with adults from all walks of life, assisting them with job skills and training, and the capabilities to find permanent, stable employment after finishing Growing Home’s employment training program. Dr. Jackson uses a module called TIP (Transforming the Impossible to Possible), a bottom-up practice in workforce development for low-income job seekers in Chicago. The module was developed by Phillip P. Hong, at Loyola University in the School of Social Work.
