Clay County Times

Jacksonville University recently issued the following announcement.

Streets and neighborhood sidewalks begin to fill with fallen orange and crimson leaves. Temperatures dip, forcing residents in the Northeast to retrieve light winter gear from their coat closets. 1,100 miles down the Atlantic coast, the feeling of summer still echoes through warmer weather that attracts locals and visitors to the sandy beaches.  Outside of the fall season, there are many differences between living in Massachusetts and Florida. Jacksonville University Track and Field's Adja Sackor experienced these contrasts for the first time when she made her way to the Sunshine State five years ago.  

"When I visited campus I felt like I was in a movie, it was just too cool to be reality," Sackor said. "This ended up being the only school I visited and I was really excited to come back to Florida and compete for JU."

The Worcester native made her way to the states from Liberia, when she and her family fled the second civil war that began in April of 1999. Sackor left West Africa around the age of four, and she lived in Massachusetts with her five siblings, her father and aunt.

Due to many cultural barriers, Sackor navigated her new lifestyle very quietly.

"I had a hard time connecting with people because I did not speak English very well at first, so I was always quiet," Sackor said. "I had to connect with others through sports, dance or even drum because that was what I was comfortable with."

Sackor competed in multiple sports at a young age and has been competing in track events since she was in elementary school. Despite shining in everything she tried, she knew track and field was the sport for her.

"I always thought I was going to go to college for either basketball or soccer since my dad was a soccer coach and everyone in my family played basketball," Sackor said. "But I competed in so many track events starting in third grade and I just fell in love with it."

JU's head coach, Ron Grigg, is also a New England native. Grigg received word of Sackor's talent when she competed in high school.  

During the offseason, Grigg typically makes a trip home to the Boston area and tends to scout athletes in the Northeast to potentially join his program. Without his annual trek back, Sackor may have never had the opportunity to compete in the green and white.

"I noticed there was an athlete from Worcester jumping well and I wanted to investigate it," Grigg said. "If I had not heard about this amazing talent from outside of the city, the story could have been very different."

Sackor made the decision to become part of the JU family her senior year of high school. After visiting the campus with her sister in the spring of 2017, it confirmed that this was the place for her. She is the first person in her family to pursue a college degree, as most enter the workforce after receiving a high school diploma.

Moving to Jacksonville was her first time away from home, which was something she looked forward to.

"I never really thought about leaving Massachusetts, but when I was offered the opportunity I immediately thought, 'why not'," Sackor said. " Telling my family I was leaving was a happy and difficult moment as some do not see college as necessary since it's not required."

Growing up with her family in Worcester, Sackor did not have the so-called "typical" childhood experience.  

Sackor has held a job since she was 12 years old. Her first one consisted of performing office work tasks as an intern for a leadership program at her middle school. Once she reached her freshman year of high school, she worked full-time hours in addition to her school work.

"In high school I would go to school, track practice, and then walk to work," Sackor said. "Work was from six until midnight and after that I would go home and clean the house and then wake up to do it all again the next day."

On top of all of that, Sackor was involved in a handful of extracurriculars including the knitting club, the school newspaper, Best Buddies program and various leadership organizations.

She continued her busy schedule at JU. Not only was she a full-time student-athlete but she also has held a job at Walmart since August of 2018.

While she is no stranger to maintaining a hectic schedule between school and work, the transition to JU was not as easy. Specifically, her academic life posed a challenge for the first time.

The former Associate Director of Student-Athlete Services for JU, Angela DeMarino, spent four years with Sackor and watched her grow as an undergrad. What started out as a journey to reach a degree in biology, turned into pursuing a Bachelor's of Education for Instruction with a minor in kinesiology.

"Adja struggled at the beginning and we would sit down and go over her school work to make sure she was successful," DeMarino said. "Once she switched her major to a more hands-on and speaking subject, she just took off."

Though the academic aspect of being a student-athlete took some getting used to, she never struggled with excelling on the track.

Sackor won multiple indoor and outdoor events throughout her first three seasons with the Dolphins. Her biggest accomplishment to date is traveling to Eugene, Oregon, to compete in the 2021 Olympic Trials.

"Adja strives to be the best everytime she competes no matter what and she works hard, " assistant track and field coach Diego Vela said. "Even when she does well in a meet she is always looking for what she can improve on and that's not a characteristic every athlete has."

Sackor returned from the Olympic Trials to use one more year of eligibility to compete for the Dolphins and attend graduate school for organizational leadership and development. She is also serving as a graduate assistant for Bambi Brundage, a former track coach and the current Director of Recreation and Operations for the university.

Brundage met Sackor while she was a student-athlete and also witnessed her off the field as a student worker for university events.

"I approached her to come work for me because the hard working ones are the ones you want to keep," Brundage said. "She always wants to learn, has the most positive attitude and is always vibrant."

Next April, Sackor will conclude her track and field career and remain on campus for one more year to finish her graduate degree.

It is clear that her presence in the classroom, at work and on the track will be missed.

"Some people would endure what she has and say it's too hard and I'm done," Grigg said. "But Adja continues to set a high standard for herself athletically, academically and personally."

In the meantime, she plans to continue embracing the city of Jacksonville on her own, a place she will always refer to as home.

Original source can be found here.