LUC JACKSON – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
Luc Jackson: Dedicated in every sense of the word
Luc Jackson (second from left) with a group of his fellow military peers.
Luc, a California native and accomplished graduate of Clackamas High School, has served as an Air National Guard member and, most recently, as a newly assigned study hall teacher at Adrienne C. Nelson High School. Perhaps more impressively, Luc is also remotely working toward a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Eastern Oregon University, demonstrating his consistent dedication to learning and development. Despite his many duties, Luc was called to fulfill his military obligations for the full month of September, showing his selflessness and unparalleled feats of taking on the many things that he is balancing in his life.
Although he spent most of his adolescence in Southern California, Luc Jackson found a home quickly in Clackamas County. Shortly after moving in 2011, he started attending CHS until he graduated in 2015. However, he didn’t really know what he wanted to do once he left high school. But he remembered that curiosity was sparked when he became aware of the military while he was a sophomore in high school, browsing a recruitment fair at CHS’s main campus. “I was like, I got to have college to get somewhere, and I don’t want to be settled with crippling debt for the rest of my life,” he said. “So, it seemed like a good idea to do.”
It felt like fate because Luc had always wanted to be a pilot. “My mom knew I wanted to be a pilot, but she was like ‘Well, why don’t you go to the Air Force Academy and learn flight training to join the guard or something’,” he said. “Though it did take a lot of convincing when I told her that I wanted to go into full active duty. But we met in the middle and looked into the Air National Guard, met with a recruiter and the day after my graduation ceremony I went and swore in.” He then trained to be a surveillance technician, which is what he did for the first two years of his service. Soon after, he trained to work in security forces where he has been ever since.
Before he went off to basic training at the end of 2016, he did take a few classes for a term at Western Oregon University the year prior. “The military was a safety net and gave me a sense of direction where I know that I will always have this to fall back on, but halfway through my term at Western, I thought ‘you know, it would be awesome if I became a high school teacher,” he said. “My mom has always been a teacher and before now, it was like, the last thing I wanted to do with my life. But I really liked it when I started subbing middle and high school during the 2021 to 2022 school year.”
He found his place back in the city he lived his teenage years in, except now at Adrianne C. Nelson High School as a long-term substitute for study hall classes and loved it; it didn’t take long for Principal Greg Harris to give him a full-time position at the school. With this job, comes an advantage; as a full-time student with the hopes of being a high school English teacher once he completes his bachelor’s and master’s degree, he does have assignments to do and is able to work on them with his students. “I’m teaching study hall, so even if the kids aren’t using their study time, I certainly am,” he said.
The military though, is something that is a constant in his life. “While doing my schooling, I’m also in the reserve full time and this month, I’m going to go fulfill some military things,” he said. “I’m putting things on pause until then and will return to teach and continue my degree.”
Although Luc’s life sounds chaotic and busy, he couldn’t be more grateful for every opportunity he has been given. “I just take it one day at a time, just improvise, overcome and adapt to everything,” he said. “I’m still learning with everything I’m doing, from military to school to teaching. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”