Kalaia Jackson loves being involved. She loves collaborating with people, leading them and making a difference every day. As someone who practices active citizenship, she listens with a goal to understand, a trait that will serve her and her community as she explores a career as a pharmacist.

The Wide Range of Connection

It’s hard to know where to begin in describing the range of organizations Kalaia has been associated with in her years at UM-Dearborn. For instance, although she is a biological sciences and pre-pharmacy major, she has served as the president of Wolverine Media Network (WMN), which oversees the Michigan Journal, Campus Video Network, WUMD campus radio and the Lyceum arts journal. She began at the Michigan Journal as an opinion writer, was promoted to opinion section editor, then editor-in-chief, and eventually to the role of president of WMN. “I have grown with this organization as a member and a person ever since I started college,” Kalaia said. “I feel like I’ve been able to better understand people and change my leadership style depending on the organization.”

Kalaia has also served as the treasurer of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, the treasurer for the National Society of Black Women in Medicine, the event coordinator for Opportunities for Minority Network Initiative, and even the president and co-founder of the Dearborn Pickleball Club. Beyond those roles, she has worked as a mentor and in student support services in the TRIO office and for the Office of Student Life.

“I’m involved in a lot of things that kind of have nothing to do with each other,” she said. “But what's kept me motivated to get involved was just following my interest and what I want to do after graduation. With the Office of Student Life and my sorority, I do a lot of volunteering. With Wolverine Media Network, it has been a lot of interpersonal development skills.”

Service and Citizenship

Ask those who know Kalaia, and who have watched her evolve into an authentic and selfless leader, and they will say that where Kalaia has truly made her impact at UM-Dearborn has been in her roles supporting students and the community. Whether it was coordinating Alternative Spring Breaks or MLK Days of Service, she was a model of a thoughtful and dependable student leader.
“Kalaia is a near-perfect embodiment of active citizenship,” said JaNai' James, program coordinator of Office of Student Life. “When she becomes involved in a community, she is intentional about understanding its needs and strengths before taking action. Best of all, she is encouraging other students to do the same.”

Among other engagement roles, she also tutored students through the TRIO program, volunteered as a patient assistance liaison at Trinity Health Livonia Hospital, facilitated workshops in the ideals of finer womanhood for Zeta Phi Beta and participated in the Adopt-A-Highway program along Hubbard Drive.

Rachel Leonard, an advisor from the Office of TRIO programs, describes Kalaia as “a selfless, empathetic and emotionally intelligent individual who possesses a rare willingness to support those in need, often placing the well-being of others above her own.”

The Switch to Pharmacy

With all Kalaia has done on campus and in the community, it could be easy to forget that she was simultaneously excelling in academics to prepare for pharmacy school. Originally on the pre-med track, she wondered if that was the right fit for the kind of health professional that she wanted to be.

Time was a factor, the number of years needed for medical school versus pharmacy school, but also Kalaia’s community-mindedness, discussions with her parents, and an unexpected health situation with her mother helped change her direction. “We developed a really good relationship with our local pharmacist,” she said. “So being able to make that good relationship and better understand what my mom was going through, it meant a lot. And I want to be a pharmacist who could have that same impact on a family if they have that same situation occur.”

Continued Service

Kalaia’s next steps will be working toward a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She understands that the time she has spent being an active leader on UM-Dearborn’s campus prepares her for success in the community that will be fortunate to have her as their pharmacist. “To me, leadership means being able to adapt to the group you’re working with,” she said. “I believe my experience working with students from various backgrounds will assist me in communicating with different groups of people as I work in pharmacies.”