Alice Coachman was the 5th of 10 children to a World War I veteran Fred Coachman and a half Cherokee Indian Evelyn Jackson Coachman. Ms Coachman was the first to receive her high school diploma, the first to complete her trade school or (Jr. College) degree and the first in her family to complete her College degree from Albany Normal and Agricultural College ( now Albany State University www.asurams.edu )

Her athletic, academic and commercial accomplishments have encouraged thousands of others to move their lives forward.