In May 2026, Falk alumnus Jackson Juzang will graduate from Haverford College and move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and media and a master’s degree in communication management at the University of Southern California. 

Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in English, internship experience at NBC Sports, and an impressive entrepreneurial resume, the Class of 2018 alum says he hopes to be one of the next big names in media, using entertainment to drive positive social impact. 

Early Education 

At Falk, Jackson says he was a shy and goofy kid who always wore his heart on his sleeve—much of which remains the same today. In the classroom, he was inspired by teachers like Nabilah Rahman, Greg Wittig, Cameron Barnett, Jackie Metcalf, Lindsay O’Sullivan, and Jill Sarada, and he credits Falk for his early love of the humanities. He also remembers the unique impact that student teachers had on his education, from helping spark academic interests to providing an extra layer of support in an environment that already felt so welcoming. 

Jackson at the Pitt Sports Dome for Field Day in 2012

Outside of class, Jackson was a member of the basketball and cross country teams and says he appreciated Falk’s inclusive social atmosphere. “The biggest thing Falk did was just allow me to be myself at an early age. You [were] really able to thrive through who you are. I think there's a lot of power in that.” 

Falk also provided a sense of connectivity and a host of resources and opportunities for Jackson—something he calls a common thread between Falk, Winchester Thurston, and Haverford. Even when it isn't their job, he adds, Falk teachers, administrators, and staff can always be counted on to step in and help a student in need, “which is a really amazing trait. They don’t just let [things] go, so I definitely want to give a shoutout to them.” 

Today, some of Jackson’s most cherished moments from Falk include early morning basketball practices with Coach Doyle, enjoying General Tso’s chicken in the cafeteria, playing tackle football during snowy recesses, and his kindergarten orientation day, when he saw the playground and courtyard for the very first time. 

He also remembers accidentally making the shot of a lifetime on the basketball court one day. “We used to play kickball at recess,” he explains. “We used the full basketball court as the bases, [and] one time I just kicked it and made a full-court shot off a kick. I was ecstatic for the rest of the day,” he says, laughing. “That was a cool moment.” 

Entrepreneurial Pursuits 

In addition to playing basketball, running track, and serving as a research and editorial intern for NBC Sports during college, Jackson has also founded two businesses: a non-profit coalition called the Philadelphia Student Press Association (PSPA) and a multimedia agency called PBJ Productions. 

Jackson in his university library, © Haverford College.

Philadelphia Student Press Association 

With a mission to sustainably serve the next generation of journalists, PSPA offers infrastructure, education, networking opportunities, press credentials, and other vital resources to student reporters in the Philadelphia area. Under Jackson’s leadership—and with support from an advisory board, executive committee, and “mini grant” financial system—the goal is to foster collaborative reporting efforts so that all students have meaningful access to newsworthy events and can “capture the cultural, civic life of the city,” Jackson explains. 

Although the coalition is currently local to Philadelphia, cities like Baltimore, Boston, New York, and D.C. have expressed interest in establishing similar associations. Jackson says he hopes the company can regionalize in the coming months and years, expanding to support these cities and others across the country. 

PBJ Productions 

Jackson is also a co-founder and co-owner of PBJ Productions, a multimedia company that develops original content and branding for both in-house and client projects. “Everything we do is focused on Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” he says, “whether it's the audience, the clients, or the infrastructure of the company and the people who are working for us.” 

Since its inception, PBJ has expanded into a 20-person operation with over a dozen active projects spanning sports, music, comedy, and entertainment. Many team members help with content creation, branding, and post-production for podcast and video shows, including setting up social media pages and sponsorships for clients and “treating the whole show as its own micro-ecosystem," Jackson explains. 

Personal Impact 

With each of his businesses, Jackson says he hopes to create a social impact and improve media consumption and experiences for his Gen Z and Gen Alpha peers. “I try to embody being a kid as much as possible,” he reflects, “especially from an entertainment perspective. You have to kind of think about how to tap into your younger self and into the joyous part of [everything].”

In seeking to share joy and empower others, Jackson says he’s been lucky enough to see improvements in his own life, too, like fostering the goofy side he developed at Falk and growing in personal and professional confidence. 

Looking Back and Moving Forward 

Before moving to California in the spring, Jackson says he’ll come back to Falk one more time—something he does whenever he returns home to Pittsburgh during a school break. “It's really a treat to talk to [my] teachers,” he says. “Any time I'm back, it’s just kind of nostalgic.” 

These visits are made even more special by the fact that Jackson’s mom, Kelly Maddox, still works at the school today. It’s funny, he reflects, talking to his teachers and her coworkers as an adult when he can still remember being lectured by them as a kid. 

Looking ahead to LA, Jackson is excited to dive into screenwriting and hopes to one day make a movie about the social and institutional politics of academia. "I'm very fascinated by the way academia has been functioning over the last 15 years,” he says, adding that he recently attended the New York Film Festival and had a unique opportunity to talk with Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri about After the Hunt, a film they starred in about a Yale tenure professor. 

Outside of these pursuits, Jackson says he loves watching movies and enjoying warm weather—something he’ll soon have a lot more of in LA.