Jessica Fournier Is In The Middle Of Her Career Journey (Working Title)
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Jessica Fournier is currently the Assistant Director of Student Engagement within the Student Affairs and Activities Department at the University of New England, UNE, Maine. She came here in January 2019 towards the beginning of the Spring Semester from being Assistant Director of Student Activities at the Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
Not only has Jessica worked at the Gettysburg College for Student Activities she also worked at the universities of; Augusta, Marywood, and Midwestern State. She was the Student Engagement Organizer and worked some of the Leadership programs at the Universities. She did not always want to work with college students.
She mentioned that working with college students was; “Something figured out late in the game.” Jessica ended her Bachelor’s with an Elementary Education and Teaching Degree. She said, “Almost halfway through senior year in college I was accepted to be a guidance counselor.” But, she realized during this time she enjoys working with college students more.
This realization encouraged Jessica to get in contact with her undergraduate advisor at UMaine Orno and figure out what she could do to work with college students due to the fact it was her senior year of college. Her advisor LC whom she did not like when she first met him told her that the job she was looking for was his.
Although Jessica did not like LC at the beginning he has mentored her since then. Now he is still one of her advisors in life and one of her good friends. Another close mentor of Jessica’s has added to shaping who she is as an Assistant Director of Student Engagement.
While in graduate school at Marywood University Jessica met Cali. According to Jessica, “Cali, she took a grab on me when I didn’t know what I was doing.” Not only did Cali take Jessica under her wing Jessica took away a phrase that she passes onto her students that she interacts with. Cali would always say to Jessica, “Once you’re my student you will always be my student.”
Through her time at the few Universities, Jessica has worked with she has told students that same phrase and that she is here if they need something or just want to let her know how they are doing. Even if it means she no longer works at the same college the students she interacts with go to.
One of her former students who went to Law school emailed her one day out of the blue to let Jessica know she became a lawyer and how well she is doing thanks to her. Jessica wrote her recommendation letter to the law school the girl wanted to go to.
Jessica has learned a lot while working with college students and seeing how other professional staff have dealt with working at Universities. One of which she has managed to do she proudly stated was being able to, “I can easily make a differentiation between work and my life outside of work.” She mentioned how those faculty that cannot separate work from their own life tend to get drained quicker.
This ability to separate work from her private life has enabled Jessica to really enjoy her career path. She makes it clear, “Working in higher education is something you need to be passionate about; it’s not a job it’s a career path.” She feels that it is essential that people who are interested in this career path of higher education know, “You are teaching essential skills to students for life after school.”
It is clear just from talking to Jessica how passionate she is about students and the connection she likes to have with them even after graduation. Jessica had the opportunity to come back to UNE to be the Assistant Director of Student Engagement. This chance enabled her to come back to her home, Maine.
But coming home to Maine was not the main reason she chose to take the job at UNE. In all seriousness, Jessica said, “If I didn’t love the students I work with I wouldn’t be here. She then went on to talk about how the students at UNE is the main reason she was drawn back here to Maine. She boasted about how all the students here are thoughtful, smart, outgoing, and passionate about what they are going to school for.
Jessica is motivated by “seeing the needs of the students and making sure they get it.” She had amazing experiences at college and wants to make sure that as many students as possible also have a positive experience.
What came to be a bit of a surprise was when she mentioned, “I prefer working with students who struggle it’s why I got into higher education.” It was not the students that are well-off to be going to college but the ones that tend to struggle to get through it. Jessica reassured that seeing the well off students is a plus: but if she can change someone’s rough life in college to leaving with a good experience she is even happier.
Although Jessica has just started here at UNE she does not see herself staying. She encouragingly mentioned her end goal professionally means either becoming, “Dean of students at a small private institution or go back and get a law degree to be a risk manager for an institution operational standpoint.”
Being the Dean of students means to handle student cases student by student. Jessica would have to go back to school to get her EDD to be able to become Dean. Whereas, the Risk Manager deals with risks that concern the entire campus instead of student by student. In order to be a Risk Manager, Jessica would only need to get a Law degree.
She was ardent in saying, “I don’t want to hit the top of my career before I am thirty.” As Jessica sits in her office behind her paper-filled desk attaching papers for an event with an empty Calendar, a giant Leader Scholar goals list, and To-Do list on her whiteboard between two triangular College flags on her wall behind her. She takes note that, “Anything can change endgame can be anything at this point.”
