W. Anthony Jackson, a Trident Technical College graduate and TTC Foundation trustee, returned to the college recently as the keynote speaker for Awards Day.
He made one thing clear from the start: he was there first and foremost as a proud alumnus.
“I stood before the students, faculty, leadership and award recipients, not simply as a health care executive,” Jackson said, “but as a graduate of the Radiologic Technology program, Class of 1990.”
Today, Jackson is a senior health care executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience and serves as senior vice president of service lines and chief community officer at Prisma Health. He leads enterprise clinical service line strategy across cancer, heart and vascular care, neurosciences and orthopedics while advancing community and population health initiatives across the system.
But his professional success, he told students, did not begin with certainty or a
carefully mapped plan.
It began with struggle, sacrifice and persistence.
Jackson grew up near Aiken, South Carolina, and graduated from Silver Bluff High School, a small community where college was not the assumed next step. A first-generation college student, he had ambition and dreams but little guidance.
“I could see success,” he said, “but there wasn’t a roadmap. No one in my family had gone to college. Nobody knew how financial aid worked or how to navigate the process.”
He began his college journey at the University of South Carolina filled with excitement and hope, but financial realities soon set in. When money ran out, Jackson found himself unsure how to move forward.
What kept him going during that uncertain time was the unwavering sacrifice of his mother.
Jackson shared that when he returned home discouraged and uncertain, his mother made
a decision that would leave a lasting mark on his life. She worked for nearly two
and a half years without taking a single vacation to help ensure he could stay in
school.
“When you think about sacrifice, that’s pretty strong,” Jackson said. “And that sacrifice still drives me today.”
When the path forward became clear, it led him to Trident Technical College.
“What changed my trajectory was Trident Tech’s affordable tuition and incredible faculty,” he said. “It created an opportunity that became one of the greatest investments in my future.”
Jackson enrolled in TTC’s Radiologic Technology program, marking the beginning of his health care career. The program was academically demanding and professionally rigorous, but it also became the place where Jackson began to discover who he was and what he could become.
“Trident didn’t just prepare me for a career,” he said. “It helped me discover myself.”
Faculty members invested deeply in their students, Jackson recalled, taking the time to know them as individuals, understand their challenges and support their growth.
“They knew us. They knew our families,” he said. “They prepared us not just academically but for the real world.”
During the ceremony, Jackson held up a small plaque he has kept for more than 37 years: the 1989 Outstanding Member of the Radiologic Technologist Association Award, the first award he ever received as a student and one voted on by his peers.
“To many people, it’s just a five-by-seven piece of wood with a metal plate,” he said. “But for me, it was the first time I believed achievement was possible. Not for somebody else. For me.”
That moment of recognition, Jackson explained, changed his life. It gave him confidence
when he needed it most and validated the sacrifices made on his behalf, particularly
by his mother. 
The recognition became even more meaningful when Jackson met Sarah Bucknam, the 2026 recipient of that same award.
“What a full-circle moment,” he said. “To stand beside a student walking a path similar to the one I once walked was emotional, humbling and deeply inspiring.”
The experience reinforced a belief Jackson carries with him today: recognition matters.
“Encouragement matters. Belief matters,” he said. “And sometimes one moment of affirmation can change the direction of an entire life.”
Following his time at Trident Tech, Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Findlay. His career includes senior leadership roles with HealthSouth and Roper St. Francis Healthcare, where he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer as well as CEO for multiple hospitals and the acute care division.
Despite these accomplishments, Jackson remains deeply proud of where his journey began.
“In my office, my Trident degree is placed above every other degree I have,” he said.
“Without that foundation, I wouldn’t be here. When I earned my associate degree, it
was like getting a PhD in my family.”
That pride and gratitude fuel his continued service as a member of the TTC Foundation Board of Trustees and as an engaged alumnus committed to giving back.
“I will forever be grateful to Trident Technical College,” Jackson said, “for helping shape not just my career but my confidence, my leadership journey and my belief in what was possible.”
He encouraged students to remember the professors who invested in them, the classmates who supported them and the relationships built during challenging moments. He urged them to return one day as mentors, advocates and supporters of the next generation.
“Recognition creates momentum,” Jackson said. “Recognition creates confidence. And sometimes one moment of encouragement changes your life. I know that because it changed mine.”
Watch Anthony Jackson explain why recognition matters | Make a gift to support students