Reality show runner-up Kwame Jackson speaks to SU freshmen

Kwame Jackson spoke to a gathering of first-semester freshman on the Baton Rouge campus.

Students should persevere during difficult times and remain focused on their goal of getting an education, Kwame Jackson, a noted motivational speaker, told an audience of first-semester freshmen students Tuesday morning in the Felton G. Clark Activity Center.

Jackson, a runner-up contestant on the first season of Donald Trump's reality series "The Apprentice," shared tips to success that he learned in Trump's boardroom with students during Freshman Convocation.

Using the theme "You will complete the journey to success," he implored the students to be fearless, accountable, calculated and to remain positive and persevere during times of hardship while pursuing their goals. "My pastor said that a set back is really a set-up for God to bless you. When one door closes He will open a window," said Jackson.

Jackson stirred his audience by peppering his presentation with lyrics from popular rhythm and blues songs and quotes from the likes of Nelson Mandela, Arthur Ashe, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

He repeatedly stressed the need for education. "I am not a reality TV personality. I am a college educated, professional black man and an entrepreneur," Jackson said.

Jackson is the co-founder of Legacy Holdings LLC, an emerging diversified holding company that engages in real estate development, fashion, television, and film production.

He has been featured in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People and has received a National Entrepreneur Award from the United States Department of Commerce Small Business Administration and Minority Business Development Agency.