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USC Soccer Star Brings Competitive Edge to Marshall

USC Soccer Star Brings Competitive Edge to Marshall

Trojan forward Simone Jackson is succeeding off the field by diving headfirst into Marshall’s many opportunities.

by: Alexander Bernard
09.16.24
Simone Jackson pointing to the USC logo on her jersey

Trojan soccer star Simone Jackson is forging a new path at Marshall. 

[Photo courtesy of USC Athletics]

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In her first three years with the USC women’s soccer team, Simone Jackson ’25 has already accomplished a great deal. She started 39 matches for the Trojans, was named to the All-Pac-12 team three years in a row, and represented her country on the under-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. Yet, Jackson, a Marshall student, says her goals stretch far beyond the soccer pitch.

“I’d say I’m a student first. I always felt like if I don’t reach my full potential in academics, then I’m not going to reach my fullest potential in athletics,” Jackson said. “You have to have a whole 360-degree type of experience at USC. As a competitor, I can’t just turn it off for academics.”

Jackson is far from turning off her competitive edge in the classroom. At Marshall, she is exploring nearly every opportunity available at the school, from pursuing her Business of Cinematics Arts (BCA) degree simultaneously with Master’s of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MSEI) progressive degree to traveling abroad with the Global Leadership Program (GLP). Above all, she values the impact of the Trojan Network on her life.

“I feel like Marshall is the type of school that really takes building their community and networking very seriously,” Jackson said. “They’ll take time out of their day to do that no matter their position.”

Both Jackson’s brother and her father attended USC. Through them, she saw firsthand the difference the Trojan Network can make professionally and personally.

While Jackson was still in high school and deciding which school to attend, her father suffered a stroke. She watched as the USC community rallied to support him. Every day, she saw them sitting at her dad’s bedside, transporting him around town, and taking him to USC football games, just like old times.

“They [would ask], ‘Do you need anything?’ And even if we didn’t, we knew that we had them. I can’t thank them enough,” Jackson said of the Trojans who helped her dad.

It was clear to Jackson then: USC was the place she had to be. She would follow in her father’s footsteps and build her own legacy as a Trojan.

“I wanted to adopt a second family just like my dad had when he came here,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s success wouldn’t be limited to athletics, however. She saw a wealth of educational opportunities at Marshall, specifically in the BCA joint-degree, which she recalled thinking was “made for me.” A person of innumerable passions, Jackson was drawn to the marriage of the entertainment industry with business acumen.

Marshall is the type of school that really takes building their community and networking very seriously. They’ll take time out of their day to do that no matter their position.

— Simone Jackson ’25

Since enrolling, the degree has exceeded her expectations largely due to the program’s unique access to top industry professionals such as Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and director-writer Ava DuVernay, one of Jackson’s personal heroes. Jackson says the program asks its students who they want to model their careers after and invites industry leaders based on those goals.

“I’ve never seen a program do that before,” Jackson said. “[But] this is just a normal thing that happens to you [in BCA]. It’s unbelievable.”

The same Trojan Network that inspired Jackson to attend USC has pervaded throughout her BCA cohort as well. In fact, she likens the group to her high school class — small and tight-knit.

For Jackson, that support extends beyond the program into all of her interactions with the Marshall community. Every day, she works hard to balance a demanding soccer schedule with her academic priorities, and, because of her professors’ encouragement and her own determination, Jackson is flourishing.

The soccer star is taking advantage of Marshall’s global opportunities. Through the Global Leadership Program, Jackson and other first-year students journeyed to Thailand with IBEAR Academic Director and Professor of Clinical Management Carl Voigt to observe firsthand the global impact of business. Later, she participated in Marshall's ExCEL program (which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students), traveling to Spain and Cuba to meet with international business leaders, as well as local and national government officials. Jackson was enthralled by the experiences.

“I always travel abroad to compete for U.S. soccer, but I never traveled to study,” Jackson recalled.

Recognizing Jackson’s enthusiasm, Voigt recommended she take BUAD 493 Honors Research Seminar with Sriram Dasu, professor of data sciences and operations, whose class flies to Indonesia each year to support the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“We helped [an Indonesian businesswomen’s] business and her marketing. We were hands-on the entire semester,” Jackson said. “I’ve never actually done consulting work, especially with someone from a different country and with the language barrier. We actually helped her business.”

While Jackson is building her own legacy at Marshall, she’s following in her brother’s footsteps by pursuing her MSEI degree through the progressive degrees program. After hearing him rave about his professors and his cohort, Jackson also decided to join the program, buoyed by her own entrepreneurial ambitions for life after her soccer career.

Now a senior, Jackson hopes to impart the same drive on first-year student-athletes who are determining their own academic paths. Jackon says her time at USC may seem overzealous to some, but she assures incoming students they’re more than capable of maximizing their potential with the USC community behind them.

“You have an amazing support group here,” Jackson tells first-year student-athletes. “We have tutors, we have athletic counselors. I try to tell them, ‘Don’t limit yourself.’”

Jackson certainly isn’t limiting herself, on or off the field. Any time she feels tired or overwhelmed, she thinks of her family and pushes herself even harder.

“If I wasn’t constantly moving in the direction where I want to improve, I’d be doing a disservice to myself and all of the resources and opportunities my family gave to me,” Jackson said.

Jackson plans to go pro after this USC soccer season and hopes to compete in the LA28 Summer Olympics. After that, she plans to leverage BCA and MSEI degrees to launch her own company, supported by her families at home and at USC.

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