Student Success Story

Jessica Wright graduates this May with a B.S. in Family Studies and Human Development and a minor in Death and Loss Counseling. Currently interning at Tu Nidito, she is a grief processing group facilitator, working with children and families dealing with serious illness or death. "A huge reason for going into this field is that my brother died from leukemia (at the age of 24) when I was in high school." This loss greatly influenced Jessica’s studies.

In seeking the Tu Nidito internship, Jessica found it’s sometimes who you talk to that makes all the difference. When she first called about halfway into the year, she was told they were not taking any internships. Disappointed but not done, she said "I called again on a whim early in the Summer of 2007 and talked to the program director." Jackpot! She got an internship with Tu Nidito for Fall 2007 and Spring 2008.

Jessica began working with UA Career Services recently, as a result of a class assignment that required she meet with a Career Services advisor to go over her resume. "If I hadn’t been given that assignment, I may not have taken advantage of the Resume Check." And once she was exposed to the services at the Career Center, she went to several workshops on resumes and interviewing, did a mock interview and even a follow-up mock interview. All of these added to her confidence level in pursuing her future career effectively.

Like most students, Jessica has taken a slightly circuitous route finding her career path since arriving at the UA from Glendale. Initially, attracted to the practicality, Jessica majored in Nutrition. Eating tends to be a daily activity for most people and combined with her ability to encourage people in a healthy direction, Nutrition seemed a good choice and Nutrition it was, until Jessica realized she "wasn’t really a science person."

Next, she thought of Elementary Education. She’d done a lot of acting in high school productions and church plays and even some community theatre. Performing before a class seemed a natural extension of that experience. It didn’t take long before Jessica had to admit she just wasn’t maternal enough to take on teaching children as her career. She said "My mother is the most maternal person I know but I’m the youngest in my family and never really spent much time around babies."

From teaching, she looked at broadening her major to Family and Consumer Science (FACS) Education, once again attracted to the practicality of this major.  Her studies in FACS dealt with identity, self esteem and the culinary arts, and Jessica decided it was teenagers that drew her, rather than grade schoolers.
She’s just applied for a position as a social worker for the Glendale Union High School District in Phoenix. Jessica is already successful, both as a student and an intern and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for her to get the job she really wants when she graduates.