Story by Logan Jackson

Botswana Blackburn got her first taste of how rewarding the collegiate experience could be — especially at the University of Missouri — through the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA), a three-week residential program on the MU campus for 330 of Missouri’s academically gifted students who are ready to begin their junior year of high school.

That experience would set Blackburn on an academic journey that has been beyond rewarding — and kept her closely tied to Mizzou.

Along with earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, with a focus on broadcast news, and a master’s degree in health education and promotion from MU, Blackburn stayed in the UM System for her Ph.D., earning a degree in education and the social science consortium at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has been teaching in the College of Health Sciences since 2011.

“The Missouri Scholars Academy was the best three weeks of my life,” said Blackburn, who is now the Health Sciences department chair and a teaching professor, as well as affiliate faculty in the Honors College. “It was amazing to live on campus, participate in unique and challenging coursework, and be among a community of peers who were just as motivated about learning as I was. I fell in love with the university during that experience, too. It’s been really amazing to stay so connected. I love being a Tiger.”

Continue reading on Mizzou Honors College.