{"id":75559,"date":"2026-03-31T08:21:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=75559"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:32:04","slug":"dreams-to-degrees-willie-jackson-finds-purpose-at-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/dreams-to-degrees-willie-jackson-finds-purpose-at-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dreams to Degrees\u2019: Willie Jackson finds purpose at UTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Willie

Willie Jackson is a freshman at UTC pursuing a degree in construction management. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a place where students can explore their interests, pursue an education that excites them and start building toward their future.<\/p>\n

For Willie Jackson, a freshman who hails from Meridian, Mississippi, UTC provides an opportunity to create a better life for his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really looking for something better,\u201d said Jackson, who moved to Chattanooga and attended The Howard School. \u201cI started out at an early age looking up to the wrong people, following the wrong crowd, seeing that it didn\u2019t get me anywhere in the long run. I really wasted my time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a kid. He\u2019s 4 with autism. He was nonverbal, but now he can talk. I took that and decided I wanted a better life for them, my son and fianc\u00e9e. So I decided to come here and try to get the best education I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

By \u201cfollowing the wrong crowd,\u201d he found himself in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to sell drugs in my past,\u201d he said. \u201cThat didn\u2019t work out. I\u2019ve been to jail, prison, and that was it. It was just time for me to turn my life around. There was no point in continuing to do what I was doing and getting the same results. I wanted something better. I wanted something positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

After attending Chattanooga State Community College, where he earned a cosmetology degree, Jackson transferred to UTC to pursue a degree in construction management.<\/p>\n

He had to start his academic journey all over again, he said, but at UTC, it\u2019s \u201call positive vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact he felt on campus led him to write a song, \u201cDreams to Degrees,\u201d about his UTC experiences and determination to succeed.<\/p>\n

The song caught the attention of Brad Bond, assistant director of academic support in the UTC Center for Academic Support and Advisement (CASA), who was helping Jackson in the UTC Library one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillie just has this energy about him,\u201d Bond said. \u201cI can just tell he truly enjoys being in this space. Whether he has a class or not, just being here at UTC was important to him. He wanted access to all the resources he could possibly get. So through natural conversation and his love of UTC, he was like, \u2018Yeah, I even made a song.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bond, this enthusiasm from nontraditional students is common.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith what I\u2019m calling nontraditional students,\u201d he said, \u201cthey have often lived and have seen life and possibly have families, have worked jobs and sometimes have run into perceived dead ends. They\u2019ve realized somewhere along the way that education will help them reach the next level. Willie is one of those students.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fan of all genres of music, especially country, Jackson said the song came to him after class one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked out and thought, I\u2019m going to make something for the school because why not give back to something that has helped me?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bond shared the song around the CASA office, hoping to promote Jackson\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillie is obviously going the extra mile as a student, so I want to go that extra mile for him. That\u2019s really what it boiled down to,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to do the extra, I\u2019ll do the extra. This wasn\u2019t much, but little things like that can be a big deal to people. So keep your word and do everything that we possibly can to support a student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson hopes to graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree, set an example for others with similar life experiences and eventually run his own construction management business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to leave here showing that I\u2019ve learned something,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHopefully, I can pass it on to the people in my community because the community I come from is so underprivileged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

College of Engineering and Computer Science<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Willie

Willie Jackson’s song “Dreams to Degrees” expresses his love for UTC.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a place where students can explore their interests, pursue an education that excites them and start building toward their future. For Willie Jackson, a freshman who hails from Meridian, Mississippi, UTC provides an opportunity to create a better life for his family.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2058,"featured_media":75563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,123864,15,59,3,122490,64,661],"tags":[126887,122305,123827,123826,127070,123828,124776,123829,99118,126888],"class_list":{"0":"post-75559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-advancement-and-alumni","9":"category-campus","10":"category-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","11":"category-community","12":"category-construction-management","13":"category-news","14":"category-students","15":"tag-brad-bond","16":"tag-chattanooga-state-community-college","17":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","18":"tag-cultivating-a-culture-of-innovation","19":"tag-goal-1-1-expand-utcs-educational-footprint-strategic-plan-2030","20":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","21":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","22":"tag-operating-with-excellence","23":"tag-the-howard-school","24":"tag-willie-jackson","25":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Dreams to Degrees\u2019: Willie Jackson finds purpose at UTC | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a place where students can explore their interests, pursue an education that excites them and start building toward their future. 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