Meet Officer Willie Jackson, who came to GCC via Alabama, Chicago, Aviano Italy and South Dakota. Admittedly, his passion for learning did not start until after he was out of high school and had enlisted in the United States Air Force. “The Air Force set me straight. In high school, I thought that football would get me into college so I didn’t apply myself to schoolwork the way I should have.”
While in the Air Force, Willie served as a Security Specialist, and it was there that he began to see and appreciate the value of a college education. He instilled this into his family, telling his son and daughter that they need to get a university degree. To that point, Willie is immensely proud that both of his children have graduated from ASU and that his wife has two associate’s degree from EMCC. It was their academic success that convinced Willie to pursue his degree from GCC. “My daughter called me out one night when we were eating dinner. She said, ‘Dad, we have our degrees, when are you going to get yours?’”
That question set in motion the fulfillment of a lifelong goal. “My parents couldn’t afford to pay for school, and when football didn’t pan out, I sorta put college on the back-burner.” After Wille retired from the Glendale Police Department, he was recruited by Deb Palok, the then GCC Police Commander, to join the GCC Campus Police. With his daughter's question ringing in his ears, coupled with being on a college campus, was all it took to reignite the fire for Willie, to begin working towards getting his degree.
“Sometimes I took a class just because the subject was interesting to me, and it had nothing to do with my major.” Stated Willie. He recounted how he took an archeology class taught by Lillian Spencer and how impressed he was with her subject matter expertise. As he took more and more classes, he quickly recognized that the faculty at GCC is truly exceptional. “They are here because they love the subjects they teach and they enjoy sharing that knowledge with students.”
What’s next for Officer Jackson? Well happy for us, he will continue to keep our campus safe and secure. As for his joy of learning, that won’t stop just because he graduated from GCC in May — he plans to continue to take classes and pursue his bachelor’s degree from Ottawa University.