A 2016 Brookhaven High School graduate earned a $64,000 scholarship to become a Tiger this fall.

RJ Mackabee was awarded the scholarship to attend Jackson State University after scoring a 25 on his ACT.

“The scholarship is a full tuition scholarship, which will cover everything while I am at school,” Mackabee said. “I received it because of my ACT score and my GPA, which I was told was a 3.8 (at graduation).”

Mackabee diligently prepared for the ACT test for five months.

“I took an ACT workshop sponsored by a school teacher,” Mackabee said.

Mackabee took the test four times before his perseverance paid off and he finally scored a 25. He said his parents influenced him the most during the ACT process.

“My parents pushed me to keep trying on the ACT to get that 25 and to just stay ahead of my work and never fall behind,” Mackabee said.

In the fall, Mackabee will begin his tenure as a student at JSU, studying music and music technology.

“I wanted to deal with science and something technical — not necessarily engineering — but something that is musical and technological,” Mackabee said.

His hopes are to use his music technology degree to become a music producer in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mackabee’s interest in music developed from the influence of his family and those around him.

“I was raised around music,” Mackabee said. “My family is a really musically based family. I was involved in band in high school. I was on of the co-section leaders of the trumpet section.”

Mackabee fluently performs on the trumpet, playing his favorite jazz music, but can also play the piano and guitar.

“I play other instruments, but I’m not as good as I am on the trumpet,” he said of his talent.

In addition to the BHS band, Mackabee was a member of the National Honors Society, the National Technical Honors Society and was a Mississippi Scholar.

The Brookhaven native said he is looking forward to attending Jackson State, but will miss the small-town vibe.

“I enjoyed the atmosphere of the school (BHS) — how it just felt comfortable to come in and talk to the teachers about anything,” Mackabee said. “If you had any problems you could just talk to anyone. I am looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing new things in life though.”

Mackabee will move to the university and begin classes in August.

“I think my biggest struggle will be not seeing the same people that I got used to seeing for 12 years,” Mackabee said. “I am going to a completely new area and meeting new people and basically starting of fresh.”