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| Georgia Institute of Technology | Faculty/Staff Newspaper - Volume 23. No.24 | June 21, 1999 |
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Contents
-Spring Commencement -NCAA Certification -People -Spotlight -Kosovo Roundtable
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‘Sky is not the limit’ for 18-year-old Tech graduateVictor Rogers Institute Communications and Public Affairs At 18, the average student is making the big transition from high school to college. But 18-year-old Jonathan Jackson just earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Georgia Tech in only two years and eight months. Jackson, who scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT at age 14, could never be described as “average.” He graduated spring quarter with high honor and will enter Tech’s doctoral program this fall, after taking the summer off to write science fiction and fantasy. “The fundamental difference between science fiction and fantasy is a matter of setting,” Jackson explained. “Science fiction is set in a society dominated by science; fantasy is set in a society dominated by magic.“ Jackson’s interest in writing has grown steadily since reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit nine years ago. About a year ago he began writing down ideas in an organized form, and the number of ideas increased “exponentially,” he said. “I plan to organize the writing as a summary of a series of novels,” Jackson said. “It’s quite vast, but most of it does occur within a 7,000-year period on two planets. There’s not a single setting or a single set of main characters.” Over the years Jackson’s parents, Ron and Cenie Jackson of Marietta, Ga., have learned how to nurture the growth of their high-achieving only child. “Jonathan has had a plan since day one,” said Mrs. Jackson. “When he was about seven years old, he said he wanted to major in physics and he wanted to go to Georgia Tech.” At the time, Jackson was a student at Garden Hills Elementary, and Mrs. Jackson, now a homemaker, taught kindergarten there. Jackson’s father, Ron, is an engineering services manager for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. In first grade, Jackson’s teachers thought he was gifted and suggested testing, but his parents declined. “To me, Jonathan was no different than the kids I was teaching. He soaked up everything you threw at him. I didn’t view it as different; I viewed it as child-like.” When Jackson was in second grade, his parents reluctantly gave in to the teachers’ requests to test him for the gifted program. As suspected, he tested as gifted. “As a parent, once you admit your child is gifted then you have a huge responsibility to meet his needs,” said Mrs. Jackson. “It is not easy raising a gifted child. It was fairly easy until about the end of fifth grade.” At McCleskey Middle School, Jackson was not being challenged academically. However, his parents thought that for his social and emotional development, it was important for him to be with children his own age. To satisfy his thirst for knowledge, Jackson joined McCleskeys mentoring partnership with Southern Polytechnic. From ages 11 to 14, he had a mentor at Southern Polytechnic and attended classes “for fun”—taking every physics, chemistry, biology and math class offered. Jackson attended ninth and tenth grades at Lassiter High School in Cobb County. During the eleventh grade, he was jointly enrolled full time at Georgia Tech while remaining involved in extracurricular activities at Lassiter. At the end of his junior year, he accepted early entry at Tech and forfeited his high school diploma. Although Jackson was an honor student at Georgia Tech and active in the Society of Physics Students, Golden Key Honor Society, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society and the Baptist Student Union, his mother remained cautious until the moment he completed his degree requirements. “I was a nervous wreck (when he quit high school without a diploma) because if he quit high school and did not make it at Georgia Tech, he’d have nothing,” she said. His parents can breathe a sigh of relief for now, before Jackson tackles a new challenge, Georgia Tech’s doctoral program in physics. “The doctoral program is supposed to take five years,” he said. “I’m going to try to do it in no more than three years.” After earning his Ph.D., Jackson said he wants to start a company in the space industry—perhaps including microgravity materials processing and development, satellite launching and asteroid mining. “The sky is not the limit,” Jackson said.
He’s not boasting—just outlining his plan.
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Approved by the Office of External Affairs on 09/24/97
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