Wisconsin student finds foundation to grow 'down south' at SC State thanks to $400,000 scholarship

Ja'Kylah Powers is majoring in psychology at SC State. Ja'Kylah Powers brings passion for service and plans for law career to SC State

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - Ja'Kylah Powers wanted a change of scenery when choosing where to attend college, but she also wanted a place where she could grow academically and give back to a community.

She found all three at South Carolina State University.

The 18-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin, graduated from Verona High School in nearby Verona. She began her freshman year at SC State this fall with the help of a $400,000 scholarship from the Dane County Boys and Girls Club, the largest scholarship in her area.

"It'll help me pay for study abroad opportunities and all those things. I plan on just trying to be as active as I can when the time is right," Powers said.

Powers said her community activism, coupled with her academic standing in high school, helped her secure the scholarship.

"I just think I was very active, so I'm excited to maybe try to be active on this campus," she said.

Why SC State?

The psychology major said SC State, South Carolina's only public four-year historically Black college or university (HBCU), has provided fertile ground for her development.

"I knew I wanted to go to an HBCU. The closest one to Wisconsin is eight hours away in Ohio. I also wanted to go down South. I did a little research on the school, too," Powers said.

"It seemed like a very good school academically and like a good community. I wanted a good community coming from so far. I watched a couple of YouTube videos of the town. I had never been to South Carolina before I came here," she said.

Powers was accepted into 15 schools but found that SC State was more persistent than others in providing the information she needed to make her college decision.

"I was looking for a big school, but not too big, somewhere down South with definitely a good community. SC State was responding back to me a lot faster than a lot of other schools. It had better communication," she said.

Bringing a passion for service to SC State

Powers is ready to experience new things at SC State, including joining several clubs.

"I didn't do a lot of clubs back home, so I want to join some. I would like to maybe be in the student government or something because I want to be a lawyer. I want to try to find a program maybe with law or something while here," she said, noting that she also plans to enjoy football games.

Her plan after college is to attend law school with a focus on criminal law.

Back in Wisconsin, Powers was part of Freedom Inc. for six years. Freedom Inc. is a Dane County-based nonprofit that works to achieve social justice by combining direct services with leadership development and community organization.

"I did a lot of stuff for my community. I also took a lot of AP and honors classes. In Wisconsin, we have a thing called a PEOPLE program. It's a pre-college experience that I was also a part of," she said.

The PEOPLE Program, short for Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, is a University of Wisconsin-Madison initiative designed to provide students from Wisconsin with sustained academic, personal and cultural preparation for college success.

Powers said she will explore ways to become involved in community work in Orangeburg.

"I'm a small person so far away from home, but I plan on doing a lot of community work. That's the type of work I like to do," she said.