[3] Here, he was introduced to Anna Julia Cooper, an accomplished student at St. Augustine's college, who mentored Atkins and inspired him to continue pursuing education.

With Cooper's help, at the young age of 17, Atkins began his teaching career at a rural public school in North Carolina.

[4] Atkins first began his education from his earliest years of attending schooling in Haywood, NC, where he progressed to top of his class.

In 1892, he and his wife, Oleona, were the first settlers in the Columbian Heights neighborhood, where Atkins would establish a community that would serve as a "center of mutual understanding, respect, and regard of one race for the other.

In 1892, in Columbian Heights, Atkins founded the Slater Industrial Academy, now Winston-Salem State University, where he served as president for over 30 years (1892-1904 and 1913–1934).