By Steve Dallape 

“I love to lead,” says Senior Yrecha Jackson. For someone with this drive, law or activism would be logical career choices, and Yrecha considered both at different times.

But it was reading Angie Thomas’ novel, The Hate U Give that convinced her she should become an English teacher, and that was the best way that she could go about affecting the change she wanted to see. “I want to teach the next generation to read and write,” she said, so that they can effectively speak out about the issues they are concerned about. The book resonated with her on a more personal level, as well. “The message was, you should fight for what you believe in. It motivated me to do more, instead of just being complacent.”

Yrecha grew up near Olmsted, where she enjoyed a large and stable support group of extended family. But, when she was around the age of 11, her mother moved them to Mounds, where they had no family nearby. “I kind of felt by myself at the time,” she recalled. In time, she made new friends in Mounds. And the move caused her to become closer to her mother and grandmother, which in turn helped her adjust to the transition. In fact, she cites her mother and grandmother as her biggest influences. “They’re my biggest supporters,” she remarked. “My mom has always taught me to be my own person, and that if I ever want to do something, go after it. Work hard for it, don’t just wait for it to happen.”

Yrecha is strong, confident and driven with purpose now. But, that has not always been the case. During her freshman year, she struggled emotionally. “I was going through a lot,” she related. She was missing school, struggling to pay attention in class and to keep her grades up. She realizes now that she was feeling depressed. “At the time, I didn’t feel like there was any way out of [that] place, until I got help and started talking to people,” she remembers. “Just talking to anybody that I could. It really helped, because I felt like I was alone and that I couldn’t talk to anybody, and that they wouldn’t understand.” The one person who understood the best was, of course, Yrecha’s mom. She saw that Yrecha was feeling pressure to accomplish… something. But, what, Yrecha didn’t yet know. Her mother wisely told her to slow down and take her time, that she didn’t need to rush into anything. This simple, but sage, advice helped Yrecha see the solution, a way out of that dark place she was in. “That’s when I took time to sit down and think about my goals and what I wanted to do, and that’s when I started to write down my goals.” The simple act of putting her thoughts down on paper in an organized fashion helped Yrecha to better visualize the path she would need to take to get to where she wanted to be, helping to alleviate the pressure she was feeling. “I’m getting better, I’m more motivated.”

Yrecha says that when she was considering law as a profession, she wanted to specialize in criminal justice or family law, “to help the people who need to have their voices heard.” Instead, she is embarking on a path that leads to her teaching others to speak their own truth, to raising up the next generation of leaders, and to enabling the positive change she and so many others long to see.