Tishana Jackson was inducted this year into the Atkins Letterman Hall of Fame in the area of Fine Arts. Here is the induction speech given by her A Cappella coach, Valerie Mayhew:
My name is Valerie Mayhew and I am the choral director here at Atkins High School. I am here tonight to introduce you to one of my former students, an accomplished, talented, and fierce young woman by the name of Tishana Jackson. I came to Atkins High school in 2017 after teaching middle school for five years. Right off the bat, Tishana embraced me and welcomed me openly to the arts department at Atkins. She was a member of the then newly-formed Atkins Concert Choir. She helped me to learn about Atkins and the choral program here, and while other kids were not as flexible adjusting to a new teacher in their favorite class, Tishana always led with kindness and grace. She was selected for All County Chorus, All State Chorus, All County Dance, and much more. She was also a founding member of the Atkins A Cappella Group in 2017. In the group’s first year of existence, Atkins A Cappella won a state championship at the NCASA State A Cappella Competition. Tishana also served as a show choir captain from 2017-2019, helping the group to make it to NCASA show choir state finals for the first time in Atkins history. They ended up finishing third in the state with an overall rating of superior. That year, Tishana also won the NCASA Show Choir Director’s award. She was also the recipient of the National School Choral award in 2019.
Since graduating from Atkins, Tishana has earned a bachelor’s degree in information science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She also minored in dance and was the face of the dance minor program for the university. While at UNCG, Tishana was active member of several on-campus groups, including the Collab Dance Team, the African Student Union, and more. She graduated in the top 10% of her major. Next, she would pursue a Masters Degree in Interactive media at Elon University, which she just completed this month. While attending Elon, she traveled to Barbados to work with a non-profit organization and also launched two businesses. The first is called Inspired by Trinity Grace, where she offers freelance digital media services. The second is Trini Teas, which is a beverage company.
We are so honored to have Tishana here tonight. It is with great pride that I introduce you to our Atkins High School hall of fame inductee, Tishana Jackson.