James Wilson
Hailing from Covington, Ga., James Wilson is a junior at Georgia State University pursuing a degree in public policy with a minor in urban education. To reach his goal of making a difference in education, he intends to first apply his skills to the classroom. We recently spoke with Wilson about his experiences at Georgia State, and how the university is equipping him to achieve his goals.
Interview by Jordan Ferguson
How did you choose to attend Georgia State?
My college admissions process took a while. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go to college. Most of the colleges that I initially thought that I wanted to go to weren’t really places that I felt like I would fit in. Toward the end of my senior year in high school, I kind of started to recognize that college was an opportunity for me to start new and recreate myself in any way I wanted to.
I thought that Georgia State would give me more opportunities because of its size, its reputation and the fact that it is right here in an urban center downtown. There is no shortage of opportunities for me here. It was really on a whim that I decided to come and, as I look back, I’m thankful that I did. I have been able to chart my own path, do my own thing and build the life that I want to live.
What do you want to do with your public policy degree?
When I first came to college, I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go with policy. I initially thought I wanted to become a lobbyist or that I wanted to work full time in government. However, my time at Georgia State has really transformed my view of the future, and now I want to take my policy degree and I want to teach here in Georgia. Then, after my time as a teacher, I want to go into working in education policy and really trying to influence the way that we educate students in the state.
That’s different. Why do you want to teach first?
When I first started recognizing that I wanted to become a teacher, it was actually because of a class I took at Georgia State. I had been working in the Legislature and I was focusing on education policy, and it was really interesting to me. That’s when I decided to pick up a minor in urban education. I took Intro to Urban Education with a great professor, Joyce Many, and that class kind of solidified for me that, yeah, I can really see myself in education. I see a need for people like me, for Black men, to get into education and be the type of educators that I would have liked to have had growing up.
How has Georgia State prepared you for your career?
I think Georgia State has prepared me really by opening my eyes to the world. I was born and raised in a small, suburban town, and when I came here, my first year was experiencing culture shock after culture shock. I was meeting people from places that I didn’t even know existed, and I was going to places that I didn’t know I could go. I worked under the Gold Dome and had an impact on policy in my first year of college. I think that’s what Georgia State has done for me. It’s opened so many doors in so many different places.
Based on your experiences so far, what advice would you give a high school senior?
I would say two things. One, you really will never grow in your comfort zone. I did not believe that when I was in high school because I always felt comfortable. I didn’t start feeling uncomfortable until I came to college, whether it was academically, socially or professionally. However, those uncomfortable moments have also been some of the most impactful and insightful.
Another lesson that I’ve learned is that your life really is about you. If you’re not happy with what you’re doing, if you don’t want to do something and you want to chart a different path, not only can you, but you should.
If you could describe your first three years of college in one word, what would that word be and why?
I would use the word insightful because the past three years have been full of experiences for me. I’m talking about experiences in classes, organizations, travel and throughout the university community. With every experience, I’ve taken something away, whether I recognized it immediately or not. Everything that I’ve been doing, and everything that I’ve seen, I think, has brought me incredible insight.
For someone looking at the university, what is your favorite part of campus and why?
My favorite place on campus is Hurt Park. It’s really just a beautiful spot in the middle of our campus. What I like about it is that it was still under construction when I first came to Georgia State, and it was an eyesore. To see that transformation for myself over the past three years, from the loud construction noises to it now being a focal center of the campus, I think it’s incredible.
