https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgr99UboPrs

Alex Thomasson has found a home at Jackson College. 

“It just made sense financially for what I was looking to do and it’s super close by,” he said.  

Convenience wasn’t the only reason Alex chose Jackson College.  

From cornhole tournaments to stargazing nights, Alex dove into campus life. His biggest moment came when he stepped on stage for the college’s production of Puffs.  

A life-changing experience according to Alex. 

“I walked in there and at first I didn’t know anybody, I just knew theatre instructor Sara Anne Tomczak and by the end of it, I could call any one of those people my friend,” he said. “It was awesome, crying laughing at rehearsals. You got to sharpen up skills like public speaking, memorization and improvisation.” 

Thomasson played Oliver Rivers in the play, a character he says reminds him of himself.  

“He’s just a nerdy guy going to a new school, finds his way and made some friends,” he said.  

Performing in front of a live audience gave Alex a thrill like nothing else.  

“It’s amazing. I’ve been a performer my whole life with music and theater. It’s a rush you get on stage. It’s the feeling of gratification when it’s all said and done. You can say, ‘I did that and I didn’t mess it up.’ It’s awesome,” she said. 

That unforgettable experience led Alex to create a painting capturing the emotional complexity backstage. That artwork won the Jackson College Studio Art Contest of the Year award. 

“The feelings I get looking at that picture are probably analogous that if you were to do something like go skydiving and record it, then you watch the video back you can still feel the butterflies in your stomach, the air in your face and when I look at that picture, I can still feel the excitement, the nervousness, the camaraderie, the smell of being backstage, all of it. So, I tried to encapsulate that into a painting,” he said. 

A milestone accomplishment for Alex.  

“It’s a lot of hard work and ambition paying off,” he said. “It’s being a full-time college student while having two jobs, while being in theater and being an artist all at the same time. It’s gratifying because it’s something that I can look at and be like that was worth it. A lot of artists have that thing where it’s like, ‘I’m not good enough. My art isn’t good enough.’ Winning that contest is something I can look at and say, ‘that was good enough.’ That means a lot.” 

Outside of the arts, Alex is focused on his future in healthcare. He is taking medical courses in preparation for a career as a physical therapist.  

“I want to start off as a physical therapy assistant somewhere locally and keep doing art on the side. If art picks up, I’d love to go with that as far as I can but in the future I want to come back for some sports science kinesiology and hopefully work with some athletes as well,” he said. 

Alex says Jackson College has been everything he hoped for and more.  

“I finally found a path that I want to take in life which I’ve been trying to do for my whole life,” he said. “It’s just all around a great idea. It’s so much fun.”