Features
Journey to Success
Life is full of choices. How an individual approaches those choices ultimately leads to success. These four Jackson Academy graduates are pursuing their dreams to the fullest — whether in a college classroom, a laboratory, or on a stage — and facing challenges head-on using life skills acquired at JA.
Priya Ray ’21 New York City
Priya Ray is a self-described people person. As a JA student, she frequently volunteered at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and discovered her love for helping and comforting people during their time of need. With this discovery combined with a love of science, Ray felt a strong calling to pursue a medical career. Ray is at Columbia University in New York City, studying biophysics with aspirations to attend medical school. The curriculum at Columbia has challenged her in ways she never expected. But she’s thankful for the solid fundamental mathematics foundation that JA Upper School teachers Wanda Pearcy and Gloria Hirn instilled in her. Ray says 20 TRUE BLUE
she’s been able to build off that base and embrace the analytical way of thinking for which Columbia is so famous.
Because Ray interacts with a massively diverse student body daily, she relies greatly on the people skills she acquired at JA.
Moving from Mississippi to New York has also been a monumental, if not exciting, life experience.
“JA does a wonderful job of teaching moral discipline and self-discipline, how to be polite and how to
be courteous. While rank and academics can take you far, what helps you win an interview or get your foot in the door is having charisma and good communication skills. That is something I will forever be indebted to JA for,” she said.
