This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IUP chapter.
This week’s Campus Celebrity is Jessica Black. This driven and inspiring International Business and Finance major hails from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and can be found making an impact on the IUP campus. She plays an active role in the organizations she serves in as she is the cohort representative for the sophomore court in the Eberly Business Honors Program, as well as the events coordinator of the International Business Association. Jessica is a part of the Robert E. Cooks Honors College and the Eberly Business Honors Program. The ambitious sophomore can be found in singing for Amplify and the Christian Club and also in the Northern Suites as a CA.
In accordance with her active involvement on campus she explains, “I have always been one to go beyond what is needed. I do not simply go through the motions, instead I like a challenge because I believe challenges are what make people better and help them improve.”
Up to the academic challenge, Jessica has maintained a 4.0 and has no plans for changing her prestigious GPA. Her other accomplishments include being offered to be in numerous honor societies and fraternities. She also earned a position as a Community Assistant which is an honor considering many qualified students apply and few are offered a position. She currently holds an internship in the Finance department for Hershey Park Entertainment & Resorts. She describes one of her random accomplishments as receiving a “Dream Ticket to audition for American Idol that I won in Orlando, Florida.
She has also achieved success in relation to the impact she has made on other students at IUP. As a CA, she strives to make a difference to her residents. She keeps an open heart and mind, allowing her residents to come to her with problems or simply to talk.
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She also helps others in her involvement with Circle K and Relay for Life. She stresses, “I believe serving and helping others is very important. Through Serving, we are not only able to help others in need, we also better ourselves.” She hopes to spread kindness to others and that they will do the same, creating a domino effect.
She encourages other students to branch out in the IUP community. “Get involved in clubs, maybe even start your own club, find an organization you can do community service for, the possibilities are endless. This is college! This is your time to branch out, try new things, and really discover who you are and who you are going to be”
As for her success, she contributes much of her inspiration from her parents. She states, “They have shown me that if I work hard, I can achieve anything. They have instilled this within me throughout my life and I am so grateful for it.”
Her future goals include becoming more involved in different clubs on campus. She hopes to study abroad in France. This summer she hopes to intern with the PA state capital in Harrisburg PA. And after graduation, Jessica plans on attending graduate school in the DC area, and then working for the federal government in the Treasury Department or as a financial analyst for a major International Corporation. She hopes to one day travel the abroad and learn about all the different cultures of the world.
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve,” is a quote by Napoleon Hill that she feels is a reflection of her outlook on life. With her mind set on success, Jessica has an exceptional future ahead of her.