6 minute read
ATHLETICS
With his surprise bestseller, Hatter Chancellor Jackson ’18 turns overseas incarceration into inspiration at home.
BY MICHAEL CANDELARIA
Chancellor Jackson, author of “14 Days in Beijing”
You won’t get the full book story here. That would be too much of a giveaway. But you will get the backstory, which is similarly rich with inspiration.
Chancellor Jackson ’18 has gone from growing up in Smyrna, Georgia, the product of Native American parents, to playing football at Stetson while earning a communications and media studies degree. Jackson battled long odds each step of the way to reach today — as a bestselling book author.
His first book, “14 Days in Beijing” (ISBN-13: 9798628879832), was Amazon’s No. 1 seller in American Dramas & Plays, Asian Dramas & Plays and Teens & Young Adult Biography eBooks. Also, it was top 20 in multiple genres and ranked No. 76 on Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list, even before its official debut in April 2020.
Oh, and while teaching English overseas as his first career job, Jackson was imprisoned in China, hence the title of his book.
“You gotta read the story!” Jackson, with a laugh, would only say in January. “It’s a story of my experience within those last 14 days. It’s a lot of lessons, a lot of different messages. It’s an incredible story, honestly.”
For Jackson, the journey has been incredible, too, in many ways.
Let’s pick things up following the Hatters football season in the Fall 2017 Semester, when Jackson began applying for “corporate-type jobs.” His thinking at the time: “Stetson is a prestigious school. I should be able to land a job in corporate somewhere.”
Eight months later, it still hadn’t happened, although Jackson was flown to some interviews, including with Amazon and Fujifilm. So, he broadened his search and, finally, found an opportunity.
A switch on his LinkedIn job search to “international” unveiled “teaching abroad.” The positions required college graduation and a native English speaker with a clean background. He clicked to apply and “went about my business.” A few days later, he had an interview set up, and shortly thereafter he was told his application was moving forward.
“I was shocked; I was at a loss for words,” Jackson remembered. “After eight months of applying and all of the people who told me ‘no,’ the first job that told me ‘yes’ was on the other side of the world. I thought, ‘Chance, this is what you’re supposed to be doing.’ I wanted to do something big after graduation from college. I said, ‘This is it.’”
With five days to decide, he talked to his family in Georgia and took the job, teaching children English as a foreign language, students ages 3 to 14 in China.
Jackson departed for Beijing on Oct. 10, 2018. And he got locked up on April 4, 2019. Later that month, he was back home, but not before those 14 days.
“It was easy to get there [Beijing]. Getting back? No, it was not,” Jackson said in characteristic upbeat fashion.
On April 4, 2020, precisely one year after his jailing, his book was released to the public. Jackson called that date “an anniversary for me because April 4, 2019, nothing was the same after that day.”
Actually, the book is a series of 14 books — five books for adults and nine for youth. The series consists of numerous short stories. “I’m just telling one long story, but it’s broken down into small parts,” he explained. “And for the youth edition, I just broke it down even smaller.”
The second of the series for adults arrived in May 2020, and the fifth came this past December.
OK, a little more insight about the book from its own pages: “On April 4th, 2019, my luck runs out. The Beijing Police show up to my apartment unannounced, and I’m arrested on drug charges. I get no information about the law, my rights, nothing. After 14 hours of sitting handcuffed in a holding cell, my destination is Beijing Jail No. 6. … “Does anyone even know I am here? “Surely, as the time passes, my girlfriend, my friends and my coworkers will notice I am missing eventually. Will they be able to find out where I am? “How long will that take, or is this to be my future now? Will I ever leave this cell? … “Once I fully let go and allow the universe to run its course, the guards call my name the following morning.” Asked about shining light on such darkness with a book, Jackson points to motivation. First, a friend he’s known since high school encouraged him to tell his story. “I had no clue what [to do] until one day he said, ‘Yeah, you should write about it,’” Jackson noted, proudly adding that he really learned how to write at Stetson. Also, Jackson wanted to deliver underlying messages, including ones of hope. “Despite what may go on, and any hardships encountered, don’t let those hard times beat you,” he said. “Use [that experience] to motivate you and try to find something positive, turn it into a positive.” Jackson did that on the football field, both in high school and at Stetson, where he played defensive back. He wound up at Stetson only by virtue of attending a summer football camp prior to his senior year at Campbell High School. His “spirit just felt connected to DeLand,” he said. He wasn’t a star for the Hatters, but he remained willful, ultimately going from a little-used player to a starter by his senior year on Cherokee, getting those roots from Jackson’s greatgrandmother, who was a legend in native Covington, Tennessee, for her singing talents and community service. (His great-grandmother also was the vocal coach for iconic songwriter/singer Isaac Hayes.) His father is Choctaw and Wetumpka, with roots derived from Jackson’s grandfather and great-uncle. Currently, Jackson is working on voice-overs for the audiobook versions of “14 Days in Beijing.” And he’s turning the “14 Days” series into one long novel, which he plans on releasing sometime this spring. Also, he has written a romance novel, “You Love and You Learn,” with a release later this year. Plus, he’s officially put a stamp on a corporate name, Korleh Publications. Then there’s more football. He is an assistant football coach at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, as well as a substitute teacher in middle school. Mostly, Jackson continues to personify the enduring optimism that prevails in “14 Days in Beijing.” “Everything we go through,” he concluded, “is preparation for what’s in store.” campus.
“I’m resilient; that’s one thing about me; I’m resilient. If I put my mind to it, I’m going to see it through,” added Jackson, who wore No. 9 as a senior.
“I did what I wanted to do at the end of the day. I’m proud of myself for not giving up.”
Jackson, as his book series reveals, is philosophical: “I’m always about just finding my purpose. That’s for everybody — find your purpose, or you’re wasting air.”
Jackson grew his hair long in dreadlocks, for example, not only because he sought the aesthetic look, but also to “defy every stereotype that came with that hairstyle,” he said. Last fall, he cut his hair.
Jackson found part of his purpose, and his place, through his heritage. His mother is A summer football camp first brought Jackson to Stetson, where he played defensive back.
