Jessie and BOT Member. Jessie, Graduate Student/Alumna

WIU Student Trustee: July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008
B.A. Political Science, Spring 2007

Jessie makes just about everyone she meets do a double-take, because she seems to be everywhere, doing everything, all the time.

Now a graduate student in sociology, with a focus on political sociology and gender, Jessie transferred to Western Illinois as a junior - - with the wheels of her car, and her mind, in full spin.

Academics have been her primary goal, and with good reason.

“I am the first female in my family to obtain a higher education degree, and I am the first person to go on to an advanced degree,” Jessie said.

Jessie at WIU

  • Board of Trustees: Student Trustee, 2007-2008
  • Community University Partnership Program (CUUP), Vice Chair
  • Mock Presidential Election (2007)
  • Women's Center Advisory Board, 2006-2008
  • Student Government Association: Senator, Speaker-of-the-Senate, Senator-at-Large and Student Services Chair, 2005-2007
  • Associated Students of Political Science: President, Secretary
  • Model Illinois Government: Chair of the Senate Firearms, Alcohol and Tobacco Committee
  • Western Courier, columnist, gender and political issues, 2006-2007
  • WIU's Summer 2006 Learning to Lead program, interned for Senator Richard J. Durbin in the U.S. Capitol Building
  • Chicago-Clubline Magazine, political update writer

So she launched herself into the process of learning all she could in her undergraduate political science major and her minors in history and communication.

But learning - - and living - - for Jessie takes lots of interaction with people, including joining and serving on academic clubs and in student leadership roles as well as University and community committees; sharing ideas through print media; and pushing herself to experience more through internships and real-life political campaigns.

Jessie and Campaigns

If there is one thing Jessie knows about, it's political campaigns.

“I worked on a lot of campaigns through my undergrad years, and I have become pretty comfortable with my knowledge of the process,” Jessie said.

In October 2007, Jessie spent a weekend canvassing in Iowa with presidential candidate Barack Obama's local field organizer.

Jessie also was the Obama Campaign manager for the October 2007 Mock Presidential Election, a five-night simulation at Western that included a couple thousand students, some 100 faculty members from multiple disciplines and many others who worked to give the students a hands-on understanding of the electoral process while hopefully stimulating more student involvement in American politics.

“The mock election process really enlightened me. It's not that students don’t care, it’s that political campaigns do not target them and political parties do not necessarily capture their beliefs,” Jessie said.

“We (students) live in a different world than the stereotypical voter (60 years old). We communicate by cell phones, Facebook and e-mail. We like different genres of music; we are entertained differently; and because of this, our generation has been left out of the political process.”

“However, Barack Obama is a candidate that unites my generation because of this. His campaign website has a communication network system similar to Facebook for his supporters,” she added. “He embraces our differences in his campaign and is also right on with the issues that trigger my generation – the war, global warming and higher education.”

Jessie's Plans

“I have one more year left, and I plan to focus on my master's thesis and possibly apply for law school. I will also be applying for jobs in both the political and business realms,” Jessie said.

“I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I am certain that I will do everything to the best of my ability. My experiences at Western have enhanced these abilities and have created more opportunities for me.”

“If it wasn't for Western, I would not have been able to afford an internship in Washington, D.C. with Senator Durbin, nor would I have been able to obtain a master's degree without taking on an absurd amount of loan debt,” Jessie added. “Both the in-class and out-of-class experiences have added to my life, and I will always hold Western near to my heart and will always be a proud alumna.”