Students, faculty and friends filled Harrison Auditorium at North Carolina A&T State University on Friday, Sept. 25, to honor Dorian Jackson, the 21-year-old senior who drowned saving his sister on Lake Norman six days earlier.
Multiple student organizations hosted the 7:06 p.m. ceremony, Queen City News reported.
Jackson was kayaking near Hearthstone Court in Terrell on Saturday, Sept. 19, when his sister's kayak capsized about 30 yards from a dock, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. She was wearing a life jacket. He was not.
Jackson rushed to pull her onto his kayak. Neighbors jumped in and brought his sister safely to shore, the commission said. Jackson went under during the rescue and did not resurface. Sherrills Ford Fire, Denver Fire and the Catawba County Sheriff's Office assisted in the search. His body was recovered around 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20.
A third-generation Aggie
Jackson was a Greensboro native and James B. Dudley High School graduate. A third-generation Aggie and Cheatham-White Scholar, he studied marketing with a concentration in sales in the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics, according to a university letter reported by WBTV. He had accepted a post-graduation job at Wells Fargo in Charlotte.
The eldest of eight children, Jackson served in the Honors College, the Beta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Student Government Association and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund program.
Jenard Moore, director of student success and retention in the Deese College of Business and Economics, first met Jackson as a freshman through the Exceptional Males in Business group. Their relationship grew from instructor and student into mentor and mentee, Moore told ABC45.
"He was a gentle giant," Moore said at the Sept. 25 memorial. "His smile would light up any room he was in, and his legacy will truly, truly be missed, but it will also live on."
Moore said Jackson competed in pitch competitions and attended leadership conferences. He described his mentee as someone whose word you could count on.
Family statement
Jackson's family released a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 22, calling his final act one of extraordinary love and selflessness, WXII reported. The family emphasized that Jackson was a strong and capable swimmer and asked that his sister's name not be shared because she is a minor.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity honored Jackson after his death, recognizing his heroism, according to HBCU Buzz.
A viewing was scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Perry J. Brown Funeral Home on East Market Street in Greensboro. Funeral services are set for Monday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church on MLK Drive in Greensboro, with visitation beginning at 1 p.m.
