During one special night, with hundreds of teary parents, blue caps and yellow tassels flying through the air, a million bright camera flashes and 94 seniors awaiting their chance to escape high school, Trenton Jackson received a blessing. He took home the Faculty Award June 6 for his leadership at Cedar Park Christian High and within the local community.

The recipient must reach the requirements of having a 3.5 grade-point average or higher, being involved in leadership, showing commitment to the values of Cedar Park, developing a strong Christian walk and attending a four-year university in the fall. This year, the award consisted of $6,000, to be used as the student ventures into college life.

Jackson is described by his English teacher Judy Raynor as, “incredibly unique, he has a wonderful sense of humor, is friends with everybody and has never been spoken about negatively.”

A few of his accomplishments include, serving on student body government his freshman and sophomore years as a class representative, then shifting to class board his junior and senior years. After being accepted by National Honor Society his sophomore year, Jackson ran for service coordinator his senior year and became an officer.

One of the major reasons Jackson was chosen was because of his love for music, and how he incorporated this love into involvement in the school, as well as in the community.

He has played the trombone since sixth grade, as well as a variety of other instruments. The trombone captured his heart because, “It offers the slide and the dynamics. When played correctly, it actually is the loudest instrument in the orchestra. A lot of other brass instruments operate with valves. Some notes in a partial series with trumpets or tubas will end up being out of tune. So with the trombone, you can technically get any note in tune.”

Playing the trombone for seven years gave him the opportunity to reach out in the community. Annually, since ninth grade, he volunteers in the Mills Music Minstrel Marching Band, which performs at the Bothell Fourth of July Parade. Along with playing the trombone during the march, he helps the younger members keep their instruments in the right position as they walk. In the summer, he works at Mills Music, cleaning brass instruments. He has also been a member of the Cascade Youth Symphony that performs three times a year, including one event at Benaroya Hall.

When Jackson did not take an interest in sports, he became avidly involved in the drama department. Last year, the drama department put on “Saint Joan,” in which Jackson brought his music ability to the stage and produced 1½ songs with the help of a few close friends. He also wrote the music, which played during intermission and before and after the show, for this year’s spring show, “Napoli Milionaria!”

Though Jackson has played a more prominent role in the recent shows, he still remembers his time as a freshman acting in “The Nerd.”

“It was a smaller cast and it was a hilarious show. I got to do whatever I wanted on the stage, basically. I was one of the youngest actors in the show, so it was fun working with people while having a ton of laughs,” he said.

Some of his best memories were produced within the drama department. For example, there was a cart full of wood in the back of the sanctuary that no one could carry because it was so heavy. During a long night of rehearsal, the drama director needed the cart moved up the hill to the high school, so he proposed that they tie the cart to his truck and pull the cart up the hill. He then remarked this would either be the best idea he ever had or the worst. They proceeded to haul the overloaded cart up the hill, when the director stated, “I bet we didn’t need the truck. We could have just pushed it up with the 10 of us.” Sure enough they tried and succeeded.

Though Jackson knew he was one of the top-five finalists to receive the Faculty Award, he never believed he would be chosen.

“I was like, ‘Wow!’ I thought someone else would get it. I didn’t know what to do when they called my name. I saw my English teacher and hugged her,” he said. “When I was walking back to my seat, I just sat down and said, ‘I don’t deserve this.’ There was nothing I could have done, if it hadn’t been for the people around me and God loving me. I’ve been blessed so much.”

Jackson is thankful for his time at Cedar Park and wishes to express his gratitude to the teachers.

“They taught me Christian principles and that loving on people, loving on God and loving on our neighbors is the most important thing. If you do that in college or anywhere, nothing else really matters; no one can touch you. Thank you and I love you. You guys are awesome,” he said.

Jackson will be attending The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Even though Notre Dame does not allow anyone to declare a major during the first year, Jackson is almost positive he will pursue a major in engineering.

His top-three career choices are aerospace and civil or mechanical engineering.