A WSSU alumna who once performed as part of one of the most recognizable cheerleading programs in HBCU culture has found herself in A Different World — literally.
Tiffany Jacobs, a former member of Winston-Salem State University’s Powerhouse cheerleading squad, appears throughout the updated A Different World after moving to Atlanta to pursue a career in dance. What began as a dance audition ultimately turned into her first acting experience, putting the Charlotte native on a set alongside entertainment veterans while portraying a Hillman College student.
For Jacobs, the journey from WSSU to Hillman was something she never could have mapped out when she first arrived in Winston-Salem.
“I actually always wanted to go to UNC Charlotte ’cause my mom went there,” Jacobs said.
That changed during high school when teammates introduced her to Winston-Salem State.
“I was like, ‘What’s that?’ Fell in love with Winston and I knew I had to go there,” she said. “I didn’t even apply to UNC Charlotte. I knew I was going to Winston.”
Her freshman year coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting the traditional college experience. By her sophomore year, however, Jacobs was fully immersed in life at the HBCU, including cheerleading, homecoming and the opportunities that came with being part of WSSU Powerhouse.
WSSU experience opened another door
One of those opportunities helped point Jacobs toward her next chapter.
During her time with Powerhouse, WSSU cheerleaders had an opportunity connected to Ciara. Jacobs said meeting the singer’s dancers helped her realize professional dance was something she wanted to pursue.
That realization eventually led her to Atlanta.
Jacobs said cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta all offered strong dance communities, but Atlanta made the most sense. It was closer to home, and culturally, it reminded her of the environment she had experienced at an HBCU.
“The culture here is what I’m used to coming straight from an HBCU,” Jacobs said. “It’s the closest thing to that in Atlanta.”
The transition was not effortless.
Jacobs moved a few months after graduating from WSSU. Although former teammates were also in Atlanta, she went from living on a college campus surrounded by friends to building a new life largely on her own.
“It was really hard,” she said. “Going from living on campus with all your friends and then just having those two and then no family, it was just a big transition.”
Jacobs estimated it took nearly a year before Atlanta truly began feeling like home and she started developing a community of her own.
Then came an unexpected opportunity.
A dance audition becomes ‘A Different World’
Jacobs learned that Debbie Allen was holding auditions through Atlanta’s dance community. At the time, Jacobs said the opportunity was presented to her and several others as a dance audition.
There was no elaborate acting reading.
Jacobs and the other performers entered in groups, stood in a line and introduced themselves — including naming the HBCU they attended. Then Allen turned on music.
“She said, ‘I just wanna see you guys dance,’” Jacobs recalled. “And that’s all we did for our audition.”
Jacobs got the part.
What she initially entered through dance eventually made her a recurring background performer in A Different World, the update of the landmark television franchise centered around fictional Hillman College.
It was also Jacobs’ first acting job.
“This is actually my first acting gig ever,” she said.
Filming started during the summer of 2025 with the pilot. Jacobs said the production later returned in February 2026 and filmed for roughly two-and-a-half to three months.
The extended production allowed Jacobs to become familiar with the other students and cast members while experiencing a major television set for the first time.
“Of course, we’re also building a bond as a family because I am working with the same people as classmates,” she said. “I’m meeting the cast and I’m seeing them every single day that I’m on set.”
Jacobs said performers including Method Man were on set, while Allen’s presence carried particular significance because of her stature in both dance and television.
From Powerhouse to Hillman
Viewers can spot Jacobs in several settings throughout A Different World.
She appears as a Hillman student, a model and, fittingly, a cheerleader.
The cheerleading scene was actually one of the final things Jacobs filmed, bringing her journey full circle. Years after performing on the sidelines at WSSU, she found herself wearing another college cheerleading uniform — this time on a television set.
Jacobs said she grew up understanding the cultural importance of A Different World even though the original series aired before her generation.
“You don’t really have to know the exact plot to know this is who was on the show, this is what it was about, this is how it impacted our culture, Black culture in general,” she said.
Now Jacobs has become a small part of that legacy herself.
And A Different World may have opened an entirely new lane for the former WSSU cheerleader.
Jacobs initially moved to Atlanta for dance, but she said the experience exposed her to possibilities she had not previously considered. Since filming the show, she has continued making connections and exploring other opportunities.
“I have been acting a little bit more,” Jacobs said, “and I’m excited to see where it goes.”
From Charlotte to WSSU, from Powerhouse to Atlanta and now from dance into television, Jacobs’ path continues to expand.
Her first acting job just happened to land her at one of the most famous fictional HBCUs ever created.