The caregiver: GGC grad has devoted her life to helping others

Shari Jackson is the personification of the adage, "It's never too late."

She was 55 in 2018 when she entered Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) as a first-year human services major. It was a huge life change and a big gamble for a mother of two who had spent the good part of a decade as a caregiver for both her mother and aunt, on top of raising her children, who were 23 and 15 at the time. But it was her mother and aunt themselves who convinced her she had to return to college.

"I was always the person my mom and aunt would reach out to," said Jackson. "The role increased as they aged. While I cared for them, they frequently encouraged me to return to school to earn my degree and position myself to help others."

Jackson grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where her father was a steelworker for Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland, and her mother was a paraprofessional for the Baltimore City Public School System for 30 years. Jackson and her then-husband moved to Georgia in 2006, and asked her mother, who was then 74 and separated from her father, to come along.

"My mother was always pretty independent, but when we relocated, I asked her to come along because my sister had suffered a tragic accident that left her a single-leg amputee and with a traumatic brain injury resulting in short-term memory loss," said Jackson. "She is truly a miracle, married, and living a full life, but it would have been too much for her and her husband to look after Mom."

Over the years, Jackson cared for her mother through a series of surgeries and procedures, including spine surgery and a mastectomy, and finally, a recurring respiratory illness that left her dependent on an oxygen tank.

"She was always full of spirit, and I always tried to make her laugh, but age and what we affectionately called her lead chain - the oxygen tubing - slowed her down a bit," Jackson said.

In the meantime, her aunt suffered a series of falls, requiring Jackson to move her from Maryland to Georgia, as well, and into an assisted living home just up the street from where her mother lived. Jackson said her aunt was just as spirited as her mother, having graduated cum laude in 1976 from Coppin State College with a bachelor of arts degree.

For the next six years, Jackson's life revolved around caring for the two women. In July 2015, Jackson returned from a rare vacation to find her mother dead of an apparent heart attack. Six months later, her aunt passed, too.

The pair of unexpected losses was Jackson's catalyst for applying to GGC. She had enrolled in Baltimore Community College in 2002 but had to withdraw when she became pregnant with her son. All these years later, she said she wishes her mom and aunt could be here as she finally earns her degree.

"Though I miss them every day and wish I could share this significant moment with them, I know their prayers have guided me to this point," she said. "I feel their presence with me, stronger than ever, as I step into this chapter of my journey and fulfill my purpose."

That purpose, she has finally realized, is service to others.

"Unbeknownst to me, service and serving is something I have always done," she said. "As a sister, wife, mother, friend, and former caregiver for my mother and her older sister, service has always been a natural part of who I am. I love the sense of fellowship it brings."

After graduating, Jackson is considering pursuing a master's degree in policy or public administration. First, though, she plans to take a few months to rest, visit Baltimore, and reflect on the next phase of her journey.

"I so value the relationships and friendships that I have formed with both staff and my classmates through the years," she said. "Through the ups and downs of life, and from tears of sadness to tears of joy, I will always be grateful for my decision to restart my journey in finding my place, passion and purpose here at GGC."