The Shadow
Jackson & Johnson Family Foundation’s Chairman of the Board Marcus Johnson presented a check for $2,500 to Alexia Shanklin, a senior at Covington High School.
Formed in Ohio in 2022, the foundation plans to award scholarships to deserving students in the Covington area where Johnson grew up and left CHS after his freshman year.
Johnson recalled, “After my father died in 2002, I moved to Dayton, Ohio to live with family.”
William Jackson, his father, and Deidre Johnson, his mother both of Covington passed away when Marcus was young.
Currently, he is a real estate investor with Properties by Leigh, LLC. His company is licensed to conduct business in Ohio and Virginia.
The Legacy of Success scholarship, the first to be awarded by the foundation, will benefit Shanklin.
Shanklin, a 4.0 GPA student who is the valedictorian for the class of 2022 at CHS, said, “As a first generation college student, not only will I be following my dreams, but I will be doing so while changing my family’s cycle.”
She will be attending Virginia Tech University in the fall.
The foundation was formed by Marcus, William Johnson, Sr. and Erwin Twitty. All of them were born in Covington and experienced hardships and challenges while growing up.
Thus, the foundation’s purpose is to award scholarships to outstanding African American high school seniors.
The foundation’s mission statement is as follows: “Our mission is to provide opportunities for success and create generational change for our underprivileged youth through academic scholarships.”
Shanklin added, “I will attend college, and I will be successful.”
She concluded, “I am the legacy of success for my family.”
Marcus noted that the foundation will continue to award scholarships next year as well.
