Palmer Scholars is pleased to welcome Jessie Simmons to the Palmer Pathways team. Jessie will serve as the Enrollment Coordinator and will work to ensure that prospective Pathways Scholars meet all criteria necessary to be a part of the program. Below is a short introduction that Jessie put together for the Palmer Scholars family.
Hello, my name is Jessie Simmons, and I am excited to join the Palmer Scholars team. I grew up in a lower-middle-class family in Texas and share many of the same financial obstacles to education and success that our Scholars do. My way out, so to speak, was through military service. So, I joined the Army and served in several places around the world including a deployment to Iraq. In 2014, my family and I decided to leave the service and settle in Lacey. There I finished my bachelor’s at Saint Martin’s University and went on to achieve a master’s at George Washington University in D.C. I’m currently working toward my second Master’s in Public Policy at American Military University, which I should complete next Spring. All of this was possible by utilizing the GI Bill.
While attending school, I also worked several jobs to keep the bills paid. I worked closely with the trades as a Teamster and later a member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. I also worked as a Political Manager, managing several political campaigns over the last 7 years in Pierce, Thurston, and King Counties. Though I have a passion for politics, I never forgot the importance of my relationships with the organized labor and skilled trades community. That is why I look forward to leveraging these experiences and relationships for the benefit of our scholars and bringing even more success to the Pathways program here at Palmer Scholars.