Nationwide — Adversity has a way of revealing two paths: one that breaks people and another that builds record breakers.
In August 2022, at the age of 67, Dr. Tijuani Theresa Phelps Jackson made a decision that would redefine her life and her family’s legacy. She enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Community Engagement and Leadership, returning to academia later in life, not for prestige, but for purpose.
What followed was a journey marked by extraordinary resilience.
In January 2024, while actively progressing through her doctoral program, Dr. Phelps Jackson underwent brain surgery – a life-altering medical event that required her to confront recovery, uncertainty, and physical challenges. During this same period, she continued her academic work while navigating significant personal challenges inflicted during the divorce process from her spouse, ending a 33-year manipulative marriage.
For many, this would have marked the end of the road. Instead, it became a turning point.
In April 2025, at the age of 70, Dr. Phelps Jackson crossed the graduation stage and received her Ph.D., becoming the first in her family to graduate from college, the first to earn a doctorate, and the first to start a business. In a deeply generational moment, her 91-year-old father was present to witness the milestone-seeing his daughter complete a journey shaped by perseverance, faith, and resolve.
“Adversity will cause some people to break,” Dr. Phelps Jackson says. “But for others, it becomes the very thing that reveals who they were always meant to be.”
Her doctoral research focused on community engagement and transformation, examining how lived experience, exposure, and resilience shape long-term outcomes. These same principles now guide her work as an author, speaker, and community engagement scholar, helping others understand that storms do not disqualify purpose.
Dr. Phelps Jackson is the author of Finding My Peace in the Storm, a book inspired by her personal journey through hardship, healing, and restoration.
As part of her book launch, she will host a live Virtual Book Signing and Inspirational Zoom Webinar:
Event Title: Finding Peace in the Storm: A Live Virtual Book Signing & Author Conversation
Date: March 7, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM Central Time (US & Canada)
Zoom Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pwJzELLVSRO-o1-Efs3Wcw#/registration
The event is open to the public. Participation is available to anyone seeking encouragement and inspiration, whether or not they purchase the book.
“This moment isn’t about a degree or a title,” Dr. Phelps Jackson adds. “It’s about reminding people that you can finish strong – no matter when you start or what you’ve survived.”
Her story stands as a powerful reminder that Black history is not only something we honor from the past-it is being created every day, often quietly, often later in life, and often through perseverance few ever see.
Sometimes, history looks like refusing to quit.
For more information, visit TijuaniPhelpsJackson.com
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