Administration and Finance Focus
 
 

                                                                                                               

RESIDENTIAL LIFE & HOUSING GRADUATE ASSISTANT HONORED

Jackie C. Thomas, Jr., a graduate assistant serving as Calhoun Loft�s area coordinator, was accorded the Houston Chapter of the National Black MBA Association�s Community Service Award. Thomas won the award for founding the Foundation for Student Leadership and Success, an organization that sponsors programs to prepare underserved high school students for college. Thomas also serves as the Foundation�s CEO.


UH honorees (left to right)
Jackie Thomas, Elwyn Lee and Kaine Hampton.

The Foundation�s signature events include the BLACKE Summit Weekend, a three-day leadership conference designed to promote leadership and knowledge among African American high school students and their parents. In addition to the BLACKE Summit Weekend, the Foundation also offers the Student Leadership and Success Initiative, a year-long program for high school juniors to develop their leadership skills. This program has three tracts: the Volunteer 1200, which promotes service to the community; the Campus Crawl, which provides exposure to local colleges; and the Keys to Success Leadership Series, which offers six intensive modules designed to develop student leadership skills.

Thomas is currently working part time for UH Residential Life and Housing as a graduate assistant, but he originally started in the department as the full-time FYRE (First Year Residential Experience) Program Coordinator back in May 2006. In 2008, he decided to pursue his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Individual Differences as a full time student. To do so, he resigned his full-time job, but continued working with the department on a part-time basis.

The award was presented to Thomas at the Houston Chapter of the National Black MBA Association�s annual scholarship banquet held on Thursday, February 24, 2011. The banquet�s theme was �Connecting Leaders of Today with Leaders of Tomorrow.� Four undergraduates were awarded scholarships, including a UH student, Kaine Hampton. In addition, another UH staff member, Dr. Elwyn Lee, newly appointed Vice President for Community Relations and Institutional Access, was honored with the education award for his 32 years of service at the University of Houston.

For more information about Residential Life & Housing, visit our website at www.housing.uh.edu. For more information about the Foundation for Student Leadership and Success, visit www.leadandsucceed.org. For more information about the Houston Chapter of the National Black MBA Association, go to www.houstonblackmba.org.