Jackson Free Press

Raegan Johnson says her love to serve fuels her drive to give back to others, whether it's in her community or at her school.

At Biloxi High School, the Gulfport native became vice president of her class her senior year; was a co-editor of the school's yearbook; a member of Mu Alpha Theta and the Student Advisory Board, which advocates for safe driving and not driving under the influence of drugs. She was also inducted into her high school Hall of Fame; and she also paged for State Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes, D-Harrison.

After Tougaloo College accepted her on a full presidential scholarship in 2015, she took the same drive to serve others into freshman year there.

"When I first got to Tougaloo College, I ran for freshman class president, although I was hesitant, being new to the student body," Johnson says.

She won class president and was inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta, an honor society for freshman college students. Yasmin Gabriel Esq., who is the special assistant to President Beverly Hogan, reached out to Johnson and asked her to be a part of a collaboration project with PBS and Upgrade Mississippi to create a documentary about civil-rights workers.

Through this project, Johnson interviewed civil rights leader Dorie Ladner, and PBS later aired the documentary.

During Johnson's sophomore year, she won the class president seat again and invited the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to speak to her class for a panel discussion. That year, Johnson was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and joined the Tougaloo Ambassadors and Meritoricus Scholars.

Johnson, 20, is now in her junior year and is studying history with an emphasis in African American studies. She hopes to become a tenured college professor of African American history at a Historically Black College or University.

She says that participating in an event in Jackson for the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders in 2011 and meeting 
heroes such as James Meredith there affected her choice of colleges and majors.

"I thought I was going to go to the University of Southern Mississippi and major in journalism," Johnson says.

"Choosing to go to Tougaloo was one of the most defining moments of my life. I chose the school for its rich history. I got to meet Angela Davis and Bob Moses--people who are my personal heroes. I have learned so much about myself as a black woman in society, a black woman in American and a black woman in the world."