Juawn Jackson, Georgia College & State University

Juawn Jackson, a sophomore and president-elect of Georgia College’s student government, is an active leader on a number of campus and community issues. His passion, however, is to inspire his peers to be active participants in our democratic political processes. Upon arriving at Georgia College, Juawn recognized that many of his peers were politically apathetic or uninformed. Having been the junior campaign chair for three local candidates while he was in high school, Juawn recognized the importance of young people’s participation as active, informed citizens. In response, Juawn worked with students, faculty, and staff to create Community Choices-Your Voices (CCYV), a student-led, non-partisan program that connects political candidates with local residents and the Georgia College community through student-moderated debates and forums. Last semester, the group sponsored debates among candidates for the city council and county commission and for the Republican Party nomination for our congressional district. This semester, the group is planning an open forum for the Democratic Party candidate for our district. Juawn is particularly concerned that campus and community members be well-informed on an important local issue-city-county consolidation-and is working with CCYV to develop a series of events to educate the public on the issue.