Jessica, who goes by J, recently moved to North Carolina where she began working at BMA in December of 2022. Though she’s lived in a collection of places, she claims Bellville, Ohio as her hometown where she spent most of her childhood years.
J. has a Bachelor of Arts in English, and a Masters in Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action from the University of Siena in Italy. In this program, she focused her attention on gender disparities and refugee movements around the world. Her practice and experience in helping people while they navigate through crises have helped her greatly in working with our students. Black Mountain Academy appealed to J. because she has always enjoyed working with teens. Previously, she worked as a residential advisor in a dormitory for international teens attending school in the US. She has also worked in foster care with the same age group. J is impassioned by seeing and helping young people work at building relationships, learn new skills, and communicate thoughts and feelings for healthy growth. She also loves that there is a high likelihood for goofiness to occur when hanging out with our students.
When not working, J. is usually playing volleyball, working on a painting, or scheming up an adventure to go on with her siblings. Fun fact: she has lived in five different countries in the past six years. Ask her which one is her favorite!