Jason Jackson ’14 Named New Chief Human Resources Officer for the State of Nebraska
April 13, 2016
Not everyone who goes to law school has the intention on entering the legal profession. Jason Jackson ’14 was one of them.
“I started my studies at Thomas Jefferson School of Law without any intention of going into legal practice and I may never do so, yet I still use the analytical skills that I acquired during my legal education daily. The successful application of the science of legal reasoning to arrive at just results is why I hold the legal profession in such high esteem and I try to role model it whenever I can,” says Jason Jackson.
Jackson was among several students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law who were already balancing between full-time work as a human resources professional and family.
“I was already well into my HR career in the software industry when I started law school,” recalls Jackson. “I feel fortunate that Thomas Jefferson School of Law was flexible enough that I was able to pursue my legal education while managing my career and family.”
Jason Jackson appreciated Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s commitment to its students and their success.
“During my time at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, I was managing a full-time career and a family, and yet the faculty and staff were always supportive of helping me achieve the right balance between my professional, personal, and academic life,” says Jackson. “I’ll always be grateful for their genuine investment in my success. I’m not sure I would have found that elsewhere.”
After graduating from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, he continued working as a HR professional in private sector but what he desired was to make a difference by working in public service.
“When the opportunity with the Nebraska Governor’s Officers came, it was the fit I was looking for to apply my HR and legal experience in a public service capacity,” says Jackson. “It’s rewarding to be working on things that matter. The private sector was fun and innovative, but when you’re working for a large global company it’s tough to feel like you’re making an impact. Now I’m getting to apply my private sector experience to help Governor Ricketts achieve his vision of having government run more like a business. That will have a direct payoff to constituent service and taxpayer savings. “
If there is any advice Jason Jackson would offer to Thomas Jefferson School of Law students and recent graduates, it would be to venture out, even if it is beyond your comfort zone.
“Be willing to leave California,” concluded Jackson. “I’m a California native and spent 14 years of my professional life living and working and San Diego. It was tough to leave that behind. But there are a lot of wonderful communities out there with lower cost of living and higher odds of early career attainment. Places you can go and feel like you’re making a real difference in your community. Don’t resign yourself to being a small fish in a big pond, find your own pond.”