In January 2023, Mariah Jackson’s mother, Valrian, passed away after a long and courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She left behind her husband of 27 years, Darryl, along with Mariah and her three siblings.
The 52-year-old woman taught fourth-grade in the Metro Nashville Public Schools system and had a knack for making each of her students feel valued.
“She was a passionate teacher who always put her students first and thrived for them to reach their full potential,” said Jackson, who was 18 when her mom died.
To honor her mom’s legacy, Jackson will spend this summer back in her school district in Tennessee working to create an inclusive and understanding learning environment.
A sociology major, Jackson is the latest Union student to win a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace award. Her project, “Harmony in Schools: Advocacy for Students and Teachers,” is among 136 selected from across 93 partner institutions.
Mariah Jackson '27 is the latest Union student to win a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace award.
Now in its 18th year, the Davis competition is an invitation to undergraduates to pursue innovative, community-centered and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues. Each project is funded with a $10,000 grant.
This year, almost half of the grantees will address issues related to health and well-being. Other common areas regard the quality of and access to education, youth development, environmental issues, and protecting human rights.
Jackson’s project aims to address the disproportionality in discipline rates between student groups in the school district and the correlation of suspensions with increased dropout rates and involvement in the legal system.
She will focus on supporting the new Advocacy Center initiative, which emphasizes trauma-informed practices and alternative disciplinary measures to reduce suspensions and foster a supportive school environment.
The funds will support enhancing advocacy centers with soft lighting and lamps to create a calming environment; creating informational guides, posters and digital resources for school staff; and supplying teachers with self-care books, stress balls and other wellness materials.
Since its founding in 2007, Projects for Peace has funded more than 2,200 projects, including 21 projects from Union. Projects are nominated by partner colleges and universities.
“Mariah's project is a perfect fit for her as she will be working in her home community in Nashville and using knowledge gained from her sociology major at Union,” said Lynn Evans, director of Fellowships and Doctoral Pathways.
“It's also a perfect fit for Davis Projects for Peace because of its focus on conflict resolution and restorative practices. Given the close alignment between the student, project and Projects for Peace aims, I'm very excited to see how Mariah's project unfolds this summer.”
For Jackson, the opportunity to honor her mother’s legacy is humbling.
“Losing my mom so young was very difficult,” Jackson said. “However, it has deeply shaped the way I care about education. My mom was a very nurturing presence to her family and students, and her passing has caused me to reflect on the importance of creating safe and compassionate spaces in schools for students and teachers.”
Projects for Peace was founded by Kathryn W. Davis, who celebrated her 100th birthday by supporting 100 Projects for Peace, designed “to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace, instead of preparing for war.”
To learn more about this year’s projects, visit the website.