Student Life
MAKING STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES VALUABLE Students remember relationships, says Jimmy Messer, Jackson Academy’s associate head of school for student life. Athletic and art activities offer essential skills – teamwork, resilience, organization, and physical fitness, to name a few – but how adult leaders make students feel valued leads to lasting positive memories.
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ith oversight for athletics, arts, and activities, such as chapel and clubs, Messer has a bigpicture perspective that encompasses the outside-of-class experiences of every student. Enriching student life is one reason Messer prioritized staffing structure and facility decisions in his first few months at JA. These decisions are helping athletics and arts strive toward a definite mission: enhancing positive experiences for every student
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who chooses to participate in an extracurricular activity. In athletics, he has focused on hiring a staff of individuals devoted to helping students reach their potential at JA and beyond. “Our mission as an athletic department is to help each player reach their God-given potential in every area of their lives,” says Messer. “While we want to win every time we compete, we also want to produce student-athletes
who will be winners in life. We have assembled a staff that we believe is devoted to this mission.” New Head Coach Aubrey Blackwell leads Raider football, and he has several new staff members, highlighted by the addition of Defensive Coordinator David Duggan. Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Michael Brinson joined the staff in spring 2022. Matthew Gabriel will assist Brinson in strength
