In the year 1775, the grandparents of former United States Congressman, and the Alamo, and American folk hero, Davy Crockett settled in what is today Rogersville, Tennessee. The Crocketts didn’t stay long, though, selling their property and relocating after a rather ferocious battle with a marauding band of Chickamauga Cherokee warriors headed by the famous war chief Dragging Canoe. Turn the clock forward a few hundred years. This idyllic location of rolling hills, country fields, lush forests, waterfalls, with small-town magic, would become the home of Jenah Cooper, a charming young lady with the most contagious smile and warm disposition.
Growing up in Rogersville was a wonderful experience, “I loved it,” Jenah says. “The people are so sweet. If I ever broke down on the side of the road, people would stop and help. I love the people.”
Since the age of two, Jenah was involved in Acro and tumbling. It was something that she not only enjoyed but something that she excelled at as well. She was athletic, driven, and determined to compete in college. From middle school until it was time to decide on a school, she had attended nearly every home King Acro and Tumbling competition. King had been a big part of her life long before she decided that she might want to enroll and pursue her education. When her friend Ashley, the daughter of her tumbling coach decided to enroll at King, Jenah wanted to enroll as well.
King was the perfect school for her, it was small, and the class sizes were much more manageable. She initially enrolled in DMAD to study photography but switched over to education. “I knew I had to work with kids, that is who I am.” Jenah decided to change her major to elementary education with a minor in English as a second language (ESL).
“In high school, I took all education classes. I always knew that I wanted to teach,” Jenah says. She attended a pre-K through 8th grade and eventually began participating in teaching observations in the same school, helping teachers that once taught her. She says, “I never realized how much work goes into the curriculum and how hard the teachers work until I started working with them,” Jenah remembers.
Those teachers she had growing up have always been her role models, but her professors at King she too holds in high esteem. “My professors are angels, I love them,” she says. “I am the type of person that needs more one-on-one instruction, and I can get that at King. I feel like it’s important to have teachers that care so much about students’ needs. You can build relationships with them, and you know that you are not just a number.” At King, you get to know everyone in your class, and everybody is very supportive. It is the kind of culture that is cultivated and practiced at King by faculty, staff and students. “It is nice to know they are here for me along my academic journey,” Jenah says. Jenah is also a scholarship recipient. She is very grateful that people are willing to give, to support students that need it so they can fulfill their dreams.
Jenah participated on the Acro and Tumbling team her Freshman year, but then hard times hit her family. Being the oldest of four siblings, she decided to focus on her family and left the Acro and Tumbling team. She took a job as a server at the Olive Garden and a second job with King Student Affairs to earn money to help her father. Her sacrifice, work ethic, and determination are inspiring, and despite the difficult times she has faced, her positivity is unwavering. She is an absolute pleasure to talk to, and the school that one day hires her is getting somebody special. Her dedication to service and sacrificing her athletic ambitions to help support her family during harrowing times is a testament to her character and the kind of student that King University not only recruits but the kind of student that attends this university. And King is proud to have her as a member of the community.
If you are interested in the Education program at King, if your calling is also to be a teacher and serve your community, please click on the link: https://www.king.edu/academics/schools-and-institutes/school-of-education/