Meet Mister and Miss Central State University (2026-2027): Nasaan Jackson and Asia Trenise Brown

HBCU Kings and Queens carry more than a title. They carry the culture, the history, and the pride of their entire campus every time they step onto the yard. That is why we at Watch The Yard are launching a new series dedicated to introducing you to the leaders wearing the crown this year, continuing with Central State University.

The 19th Mister Central State University Nasaan Jackson is a senior Business Administration major concentrating in Marketing from Lansing, Michigan, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., initiated in Spring 2025. The 79th Miss Central State University Asia Trenise Brown is a senior Business Administration major concentrating in Marketing from Dayton, Ohio. Together, Jackson (@ttp_saan) and Brown (@theyluvvasia) represent Central State’s Marauder Nation with a shared commitment to legacy and love.

Watch The Yard put out an open call to HBCU Kings and Queens across the country and we were able to interview Jackson and Brown about their reign. Read our interview with them:

What motivated you to run for King of your school? Tell us what you campaigned on and what you set out to accomplish once you were crowned.

Nasaan Jackson: “What motivated me to run for Mister Central State University was the impact and legacy I was already building at Central State University. I wanted to maximize my ability to make an impact, use my influence, and pour my passion for success into Central State students, alumni, administration, and the campus. When I first arrived at Central State as a freshman, my dad told me, ‘Create a legacy for yourself.’ I took those words with me, and I began to do exactly that. I ran for Mister Freshman, and through that experience, I discovered more about myself as a leader. I learned the ways I could serve, inspire, and make a difference in the lives of my peers and within my community. As I continued to grow, I also began to recognize the areas where I needed to develop. I learned how to create stronger programming and events, become a better mentor, and build relationships beyond Central State. I wanted to make Central State more visible and more respected across the HBCU community. The more I served, the deeper my love for my HBCU became. I wanted to see Central State succeed, and I was willing to give everything I had to help make that happen. Winning Mister Sophomore and then Mister Junior was an incredible journey, but eventually, becoming Mister Central State University began to feel like something bigger than a title. It felt like something God was calling me to achieve. Looking back, I realize that God was preparing me through every trial, every challenge, and every moment of uncertainty. He was teaching me to cherish the opportunity, build the capacity to carry it, and never take it for granted. Every experience was preparing me for the responsibility that came with wearing the crown. Today, I am truly grateful. Grateful for the journey, grateful for the people who believed in me, and grateful for the opportunity to represent the university that has given me so much. For me, being Mister Central State University is not simply about holding a title. It is about leaving Central State better than I found it and creating a legacy that continues long after my reign is over. My platform for this reign is Trust the Process: having faith in your journey even when the results cannot yet be seen, and using hope, resilience, and patience to guide your path toward success. Trust the Process is more than just a platform to me. It is a lifestyle that I live by every day. From a young age, I learned the importance of trusting God’s process for my life, even when I could not understand where He was taking me. I have learned that everything does not always happen when we want it to, but that does not mean it is not working out for our good. Sometimes, you have to trust God, believe in the vision He has given you, and keep moving forward. We are all on our own journey. Each of us has a different process, different challenges, and different timing. Every day, we have the opportunity to wake up and become a better version of ourselves. When things become difficult, we have to remind ourselves that a difficult moment does not mean the journey is over. It is simply another part of the process. Through my reign, I want Trust the Process to stand for hope in yourself, hope in your situation, and hope for your future. I want every student who encounters this platform to understand that setbacks do not define them, obstacles do not determine their future, and difficult seasons do not last forever. With hope, resilience, patience, faith, and a willingness to keep going, we can overcome the obstacles placed in our path. Most importantly, I want this message to live beyond my reign. When my time as Mister Central State University comes to an end, I want students to remember that they have a reason to keep believing, keep growing, and keep pushing forward. Trust the Process is a reminder that even when you cannot see what is ahead, God is still working.”

What do you love most about your school, and what would you want someone who has never set foot on your campus to understand about what makes it special?

Nasaan Jackson: “What I love most about Central State University is the family-oriented environment you experience the moment you touch down on campus. When I first visited Central State in November 2022 for Preview Day, I immediately fell in love with the culture. From the students to the faculty and staff, I was welcomed and treated like family. I felt like I belonged, and in that moment, I knew I had to come back. When I returned for my freshman year, that same pride, love, and sense of family I experienced on Preview Day was still there. Pirate Week was one of the experiences that made me fall even deeper in love with Central State. I had the opportunity to learn more about the university alongside student leaders and understand what it truly meant to be a Marauder. We ended the week with Candlelight, which reminded me of the importance of Central State’s history and the resilience that has carried this institution forward. I love Central State because of how we have persevered throughout history. On April 3, 1974, a devastating tornado struck our campus and destroyed nearly 90% of Central State. Yet, one of the most recognizable symbols of our university remained standing: the Clock Tower. That tower became more than a structure. It became a symbol of hope, strength, and perseverance. Just two weeks after the tornado, Central State students were back in class, showing the world that adversity could not stop this university. That same spirit still lives within us today. Central State has faced challenges before, and every time, we have found a way to rise. That is why this university is more than a place where I earned my degree. This is home. No matter what comes our way, we will continue to fight, continue to grow, and continue to push forward. Because that is what Marauders do. We rise, we persevere, and we keep moving forward. Central State will rise, and Central State will continue to grow.”

How has your school molded you into the person you are today? Take us to a specific moment, person, or experience on your campus that changed you.

Asia Trenise Brown: “The lights were bright, the room was watching, and I stood before a microphone on a stand during the Miss Freshman Pageant when I heard the question that would unknowingly follow me throughout my journey at Central State University: ‘What is your legacy?’ I was eighteen years old, a first-generation college student who had only been a Marauder for a short time. I arrived at 1400 Brush Row Road with ambition bigger than my understanding of where it would take me. My Central State story had barely begun, and I was still too new to understand just how much meaning the word ‘legacy’ would one day hold in my life. But standing behind that microphone, I knew my answer. Love. I promised to be an embodiment of love at Central State University, to leave people feeling seen, valued, encouraged, and better because I had been here. That night, I was crowned Miss Freshman. But looking back, the most important thing I walked away with was not the crown. It was the question. That same freshman year, I gave my life to Christ, and my understanding of purpose began to change. I learned that leadership was not about becoming the most important person in the room, but being willing to notice the person who felt invisible in it. Then life began testing the answer I had given on that stage, because saying you want your legacy to be love is beautiful beneath pageant lights. Living it is different. Living it meant serving when no one was applauding, forgiving when I was hurt, and continuing when finances, academics, personal challenges, and my own doubts made the road ahead uncertain. There were moments when I questioned whether I belonged at Central State at all, yet this university continued calling something greater out of me. I became a Resident Advisor, where leadership sometimes looked like answering a knock at my door. As Student Trustee, it looked like sitting in rooms of influence while carrying the voices of students who could not sit there themselves. Through ministry, it looked like creating spaces where women could experience faith, sisterhood, and belonging. Slowly, the word I spoke on that freshman stage stopped being simply an answer. It became the way I wanted to live. Three years later, Central State brought me back to that question in a way I could never have written for myself. Today, I serve as the 79th Miss Central State University, and my platform is Legacy of L.O.V.E., L, to lead and live intentionally; O, to overcome the obstacles placed before us; V, to value what is true, honorable, and noble; and E, to elevate beyond our limits to fulfill our God-given purpose. And the court I now represent is named The Legacy Court. An eighteen-year-old freshman once stood beneath those lights and said she wanted her legacy to be love. She had no idea that years later she would wear a crown representing the university she had grown to love, lead a court bearing the word Legacy, and build her platform around the very promise she made before she understood what fulfilling it would require. I could call that coincidence; I choose to call it confirmation. Central State gave me more than positions, opportunities, or crowns. It gave me soil. And in that soil, God grew an uncertain freshman into an intentional woman who understands that leadership is not measured by how many people know your name, but by how many people know their value because you knew theirs. Central State taught me that a crown means nothing if I am unwilling to kneel beside someone who needs me. A seat at the table means nothing if I forget those still waiting outside the room. And a platform means nothing if I only use it to elevate myself. Most importantly, Central State changed my understanding of the word that started my journey. Legacy. I once thought legacy was something you left behind. Now I know legacy is something you leave within people. One day, the crown will be passed down. Someone else will hold my positions, and another young woman will become Miss Central State University. But I hope the love remains.”

What does it mean to you to hold this title at an HBCU specifically, and what do you hope students take away from your reign long after you graduate?

Asia Trenise Brown: “To hold the title of the 79th Miss Central State University is to wear more than a crown. At an HBCU, you wear history. When this crown rests on my head, I think about generations of Black women who fought to be educated, heard, and seen. I think about the Centralians who walked this campus before me and made it possible for a young Black woman like me to stand here today. So when I look at my crown, I do not simply see something beautiful. I see responsibility. And I have chosen to carry that responsibility through love. Not love that exists only in words, but love that requires something from you. Love listens. Love advocates. Love serves when no one is watching. Love reaches back. Love walks into a room not asking, ‘How can I be seen?’ but ‘Who here has gone unseen?’ That is the woman, and queen, I strive to embody. My platform, Legacy of L.O.V.E., is more than a theme attached to my title. It is how I have chosen to live: to Lead and Live intentionally, Overcome obstacles, Value what is true, honorable, and noble, and Elevate beyond our limits to fulfill our God-given purpose. But one day, I will take this crown off. The applause will quiet. The photographs will become memories. Another deserving woman will become Miss Central State University. When that day comes, I do not simply want students to say, ‘She was a good queen.’ I want them to say, ‘She loved us.’ She loved us enough to listen, to advocate, to create spaces where we could be vulnerable, to remind us of our value, and to show us that none of us should have to rise alone. That is what an HBCU crown represents to me. It is not permission to stand above your people. It is a promise to stand for them. Long after I graduate, I hope students love deeper, lead more intentionally, overcome what tries to stop them, recognize what is valuable within themselves, and elevate toward the purpose God placed inside of them. Because the greatest legacy I could leave at Central State will never be the crown itself. It will be the love that remains after I am no longer here to give it.”

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Nasaan Jackson and Asia Trenise Brown for the way they are already leading with heart at Central State University. Here’s to a reign built on legacy, love, and pride in the Marauder. Congratulations, Mister and Miss Central State University. We wish you a successful and impactful reign.

(Photo Credit: Shotby1an, @happy.feetmedia, @visualsbykris)