Jade Gibson has been through more in her 19 years of life than most people twice her age and has come out on the other side of it all a truly inspiring person. She’s been through crushing hardship and has came out the other side an incredibly dedicated woman with a passion for helping people and a need to change the world.
Like most teenagers, she was burdened with the knowledge that college is expensive – like, extremely expensive. And, like most teenagers, Gibson and her parents looked to sports as a way to support that dream. Without, a sports scholarship, there would be no feasible way to continue her education.
Track and field was her ticket to a life beyond high school. No matter if she found it enjoyable or not, track was the only way to pay. So, it’s what she worked endlessly on. She had become one of the best only for tragedy to strike.
At age 17, Gibson had torn her ACL in a terrible accident, causing her to no longer be able to participate in the sport. The accident had snatched away what she thought would be the only way she’d be able to have a college career. Even community college would be off the table with how little financial help she had received.
But Gibson persevered, working an inhumane amount of hours at her boutique job. She joined more clubs than seems physically impossible. Her challenges with her grades were worked on with minute detail and she tried her hardest to work with her ADHD and turn her grades around. Gibson forced herself to become the most marketable candidate for scholarship awards. Her friend, Chloe Vanderlaak, says that Gibson is “a great leader and an even better friend”, and Chloe couldn’t be more correct.
Since making it to William Paterson, the native Rutherford resident has committed herself to making the most out of her college experience and keeping her scholarship. With a 19-credit course load and still working part time at her job, she is running on empty 80% of the time. Not to mention the fact that between her work and her classes, Gibson squeezes in time to get involved. She is a member of Phi Theta Sigma, an honors law fraternity, and is in another club, on top of trying to keep up her grades. She says, “School has been really tough on me, and the pandemic alone has been a lot on my mental health. On top of everything that I am dealing with personally I have seven classes, a job, an honors Fraternity, another club, and a 3.5 GPA that I need to keep up with.”
Through it all, Gibson has maintained that aspect of her personality that makes her stand out from the crowd. She is a staunch advocate for human rights and is a champion for those she advocates for. She works closely with her peers and around campus to educate and advocated for women and BIPOC rights.
The 19-year-old has big designs on her future, planning to transfer from William Paterson and then move on to law school. She sees herself as a part of the political sector and making huge changes in our county before our very eyes. Her reasoning is that “[She has] seen the flaws in my country with my own eyes” and wants to right the wrongs before her.
Her story of hardship proves that if a person can push through and find other ways, that in the end of it all, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. Gibson’s story is an inspiring blend of hurt, building yourself back, and persevering through. She will one day join the greats, changing the world into her own image and treating people the way she wants to be treated.
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