Visit Jackson’s Young Ambassador Program empowers JPS students
JANS – Visit Jackson’s My City Young Ambassador Program continues to empower third grade students at two Jackson elementary schools through hands-on exploration of their city’s culture, history, and tourism industry. Led by Kim Lewis, Visit Jackson’s Destination Development Manager and a 2025 CHANGE Collective Fellow, the youth-centered civic engagement initiative combines classroom learning with real world experiences to help students develop civic pride and understand their role in shaping Jackson’s future.
From October 2024 through September 2025, monthly sessions featured guest speakers, field experiences, and enrichment activities as students at Clausell Elementary and Wilkins Elementary discovered how tourism impacts their community while building personal skills, including mindfulness, confidence, and cultural awareness. The program earned national recognition when students’ video testimonials were featured at the 2025 Destinations International THRIVE Conference, giving Jackson’s youngest ambassadors a platform to share their perspectives on pride, place, and community.
“This program represents everything we believe about authentic destination marketing, that it starts with the people who call Jackson home,” said Dr. Rickey Thigpen, President & CEO of Visit Jackson. “When our youngest residents understand and appreciate what makes Jackson special, they become natural ambassadors who will shape how our city is experienced for generations to come.”
Lewis brings deep passion to connecting students with their community. “Watching these third graders discover their city through new eyes, seeing them light up when they realize they’re part of Jackson’s story, that’s what this work is all about,” she said. “We’re not just teaching them about tourism; we’re helping them fall in love with where they live.”
The curriculum introduces students to Jackson’s tourism ecosystem through diverse experiences. In November 2024, students participated in the Festival of Trees at The Westin Jackson and enjoyed lunch at Estelle, experiencing hospitality firsthand. A February 2025 mindfulness session with Maya Morris of Split Rebel Yoga provided students with tools to manage stress and build resilience during testing season, teaching breathing techniques, yoga poses, and emotional awareness strategies.
Additional sessions featured prominent Jackson leaders including David Lewis, Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, who explored the city’s creative identity through performance, murals, and music, and Mike Williams, Deputy Director of Human and Cultural Services for the City of Jackson and Managing Director of the Russell C. Davis Planetarium, who introduced students to cultural institutions and the upcoming reopened Planetarium.
The program expanded in 2025 to include Wilkins Elementary following Principal Carla Thomas’s transition to that school, while maintaining its founding partnership with Clausell Elementary. Community support came from partners, including The Westin Jackson, Estelle, and MWB Agency, which filmed student testimonials for the national conference showcase.
In September 2025, a new cohort of third graders began the program, learning core tourism concepts before recording video reflections that were featured throughout multiple sessions at the Destinations International THRIVE Conference. The testimonials highlighted students’ growing understanding of Jackson’s significance and their own connection to the city’s story.
By exploring tourism through a youth-centered lens while developing practical life skills, the My City Young Ambassador Program creates meaningful connections between Jackson’s youngest residents and their community, fostering the civic engagement and cultural appreciation that will define the city’s next generation of leaders and advocates.
