KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 17, 2025

When Information Systems student Brianna Jackson talks about graduating this December, she doesn’t focus on the setbacks, the delays, or the physical limitations she has navigated along the way. She talks about persistence. She talks about responsibility. Mostly, she talks about how much she wanted to earn her degree.

“Technology makes my life much easier,” Jackson said, “and it makes others’ lives much easier. It’s always evolving every day, and I can’t wait to be a part of that future.”

Her journey, marked by academic suspensions, changing majors, personal challenges, moments of doubt, and the everyday challenges of living with cerebral palsy, hasn’t been a traditional one. But Jackson saw it as an opportunity for growth.

“I love looking at a challenge and finding my own, different way to achieve it,” she said. “I don’t say ‘Never.’ I don’t say, ‘I can’t.’ I say, ‘One day, I will.’”

Jackson began her academic journey at Chattahoochee Technical College, where an early interaction almost derailed her ambitions.

“In one of my online classes, I emailed my professor about securing my accommodations,” she said. “They wrote back and said, ‘I don’t believe this course is for you.’ That broke me. They hadn’t even seen my work, and they hadn’t given me a chance.”

Jackson dropped the class, retook it the following semester, and aced it.

She later transferred to Kennesaw State University in 2019. That’s when she met Michael Gabriele, a transfer specialist and academic advisor for the Coles College of Business.

At first, he said, their interactions were typical: a check-in meeting here, a registration question there. But as Jackson’s academic journey became more complicated—academic probation, having to retake classes multiple times, and major life changes—their meetings became more frequent, and her determination became more apparent.

“Many students feel ashamed when they’re on academic probation,” Gabriele said. “She was never like that. She was honest — ‘Here’s what’s happening in my life, here’s what I’m dealing with.’ And even then, she stayed positive.”

At first Jackson struggled to balance family responsibilities with her classes, causing her to fall behind. She picked up new concepts quickly and understood her course materials, but juggling classes with her personal obligations proved to be a challenge.

“I love helping people,” she said. “I have a big heart. But I had to learn that I can’t put myself last every time.”

Gabriele said that lesson took time.

“I remember telling her, ‘You are number one in your life,’” he said. “That’s hard for her, because she relies on others in certain ways and feels responsible to give back. But she had to learn how to balance caring for others without sacrificing herself.”

The turning point came this past spring—the semester she initially expected to graduate.

“I didn’t cross that stage, and I said, ‘I’m not going to be in college at 30 years old.’ That pushed me. I woke up.”

At 29, she rebuilt her GPA, refocused her efforts, and found renewed momentum.

“Very rarely do you see a student go from multiple semesters on probation and two academic dismissals to being on the cusp of graduating with honors,” Gabriele said. “It’s remarkable. She embodies everything we mean when we say Coles students are fighters.”

Now, one of the biggest obstacles Jackson faces is job hunting—specifically, finding an employer who sees her, not her diagnosis. Cerebral palsy affects her mobility and speech, requires her to use a wheelchair and a caregiver to get around, and presents logistical hurdles that require specific accommodations.

“If I go into a business and ask if they’re hiring, I often hear, ‘You can’t do this job! You’re in a wheelchair,’” Jackson said. “What does that have to do with me working? I worked hard for my degree. I know what I can do.”

If you ask Brianna who inspires her the most, she doesn’t hesitate: her mom.

“She adopted me when I was a baby,” Jackson said. “She raised me to believe that I can do anything. She reminds me that I can do anything, even if it takes longer or looks different than what people expect.”

Her mother’s unwavering support became the foundation of Brianna’s drive to earn her IS degree. And her next goal? To build technology that gives people with disabilities more independence: a scheduling and support platform that can organize appointments, call rideshares, and manage daily tasks.

“People look at me and think they already know what I can do,” she said. “I’m too smart to stay home and do nothing! I know I’m capable, and I'm ready to show that to the world.”

– Story by Casie Wilson

Photos by Katherine Seghers