Former U.S. Representative Gregg Harper brought both wisdom and candor to Jackson Academy’s Academic Signing Day, offering seniors a send-off filled with life lessons to begin their next chapter. His remarks touched on faith, relationships, and the responsibilities that come with living in a connected world.
Harper, who served Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District from 2009 to 2019, presented awards to the 24 scholars who have accepted scholarships at universities and colleges throughout the country and across Mississippi. At previous signing days, 58 seniors accepted scholarships to in-state universities.
He opened by reminding students that God directs their paths and places people along the way who help shape who they will become. From there, he issued a gentle challenge: resist the pull toward intellectual comfort. It is natural, he said, to surround yourself with people who think exactly as you do, but doing so creates what he called “an intellectual cul-de-sac.” He encouraged students to learn from differences and to treat others with love and respect, even when you disagree with them.
Harper reserved some of his most pointed advice for social media. “Social media is not your friend,” he told the seniors. He drew a vivid contrast between earlier generations, when a person could write an angry letter and retrieve it from the mailbox before it was sent, and today’s world, where the ease of hitting “send” means words — careless or cruel — cannot be taken back. He closed with a final list of wise counsel, which included to begin and end every day with prayer.
The 24 scholars honored at Academic Signing Day will attend institutions across the country, including Auburn, Belmont, Brown, Cornell, Louisiana State University, Millsaps, Mississippi College, Mississippi University for Women, Southern Methodist University, Spelman, Tennessee State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Tennessee, the University of Virginia, and several community colleges including Hinds, Itawamba, Mississippi Gulf Coast, McLennan, and Northwest.
