Hey Everyone. My name is Jessica. And all I can think about right now is how excited I am to be getting started on the work God has in store for me. I don’t really know where to begin to tell you about myself. So I guess I’ll start from the beginning. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. It was just me and my mom growing up. It wasn’t easy but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have a great extended family made up of my grandparents and aunts and uncles who were always there for us. I grew up in a pretty diverse neighborhood and riding my bike and swimming were some of my favorite things to do. I was definitely a tomboy.
High school wasn’t my favorite time but I played basketball and ran track. But this is when I also really fell in love with art. Anytime I was being creative I was on top of the world. I always got pretty good grades in school and stayed out of trouble. After high school I was accepted into the President’s Leadership Academy at Bowling Green State University where I was going to major in Art Education. While there, I changed my major from Art Education to Interior Design to Human Development and Family Studies. But don’t worry. I still graduated in 4 years J The President’s Leadership Academy allowed me to go to school with a full-ride scholarship and was one of the best experiences of my life.
After I graduated from Bowling Green I was accepted into the graduate school of social work at University of Chicago. However, plans changed when I hit some really hard financially bumps in the road. I ended up taking a year off and worked at a teen homeless shelter, called the Huckleberry House, in Columbus. I then went to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio to get my Master’s Degree in Social Work. I also served as a graduate RA while I was there as well. After graduation I began working as the Director of Outreach and Engagement at Neighborhood Leadership Institute. NLI does grassroots leadership development and community engagement in the Greater Cleveland Area. I love my job. It has allowed me to learn a lot about myself and has challenged me on so many different levels. But since I have been there I feel that God is calling me in a different direction. So there you go…that’s the facts about me! Now to get to the good stuff…
