Jackson Payne has received the F.M. Rogers Leadership Award at Greenville Technical College (GTC). Jackson served as student body president during the 2016-17 academic year while earning strong grades and working to improve the student life experience at GTC.

Committed to the community, he has completed over 600 volunteer hours for a variety of causes including the Greenville Humane Society, Furman Hall Animal Shelter, Carmen’s Rescue Foster Care, and Monarch Elementary Special Olympics. To honor a childhood friend who lost her life to leukemia, Jackson created a non-profit, the Kaity Schauer Foundation, which awards an academic scholarship each year to a deserving student. As a result of his successful fundraising events in support of cancer, Jackson has been invited to partner as an advisor with the South Carolina Leukemia Lymphoma Society based in Columbia. Now a student at Clemson University, Jackson is also continuing his education at GTC to earn an associate degree in marketing.

F.M. Rogers served as Dean of the Business and Public Service Division from 1997 – 2009, and upon her retirement, this award was created by her division faculty to honor her legacy of caring leadership and community giving. Candidates for this award must have completed at least 30 credit hours in one of the programs that were part of the division, must have a 3.0 GPA or higher, and must contribute to the community in a meaningful way.

“We are pleased to present this important leadership award, named in honor of a beloved college leader, to a student who has impacted our college and community in a significant way and will continue to make the Upstate a better place,” said Dr. Lenna Young, vice president for academic affairs at Greenville Technical College.