FMO’s Jessica Gaddis

How did you get involved with FMO?
Before I even got to campus in September I knew that I wanted to get involved in the black community. I started out as general member of FMO in the fall, and became a member of the Programming Committee in the winter. By the end of winter quarter I decided that I wanted to run for an executive board position for the upcoming year. Many of my friends that are upperclassman encouraged me to get involved with the organization because they knew I wanted to make a difference on Northwestern’s campus and have a hand in making other African-American students’ experience here a good one.
 
What is FMO for people who don’t know about it?
FMO is the black student alliance on campus, which serves as a representative for the black students before the greater Northwestern Campus. Our job is to make sure the interests and concerns of the black students on campus are heard. It’s also our mission to educate the student body about black culture and the black community as a whole. On the other hand, FMO is a way for students to get leadership experience. Although FMO stands for “For Members Only,” it’s a very inclusive community and the only “requirement” is to be concerned with the betterment of the black students on campus.
 
How did you help bring Clipse to NU?
Being a part of the Programming Committee, which is in charge of the Spring Concert and other events like The State of the Black Union, I helped with the initial selection process of artists for the concert. The committee started out with a list of artists and our job was to decide who was a viable option. Although I did not have a direct hand in choosing Clipse or bringing them to campus, I am very happy that they are coming. One of the things that the committee decided was important was to remember artists that people may have forgotten about but are still people we’d love to see in concert.
 
What is the biggest challenge with working with FMO?
The biggest challenge with working with FMO is having a lot of great ideas but not having enough time to do them all. The new exec board has a lot of big things that we want to accomplish and the toughest part is understanding that we can’t do them all. I think that’s a common feeling with every new exec board because we all want to make everyone’s experience at NU better.  
 
What do you like most about working with FMO?
I love that FMO gives me the freedom to be a leader. FMO is a platform for people who want to have a big role on campus to exercise their leadership skills. FMO is composed of a group of people who have a genuine desire to make Northwestern better. At the end of the day, FMO is my family. These are the people I go to when I have an issue or when I need words of wisdom. The thing I like most about working with FMO is working with FMO, because I know the work I do is going to impact someone positively.
 
What else are you involved in on campus?
I am a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, ASG, Team Revolution, the African-American Freshman Activities Board, the African-American Theater Ensemble and I work with Athletic Communications doing sports broadcast work.
 
What do you wish you could get involved in?
If I had the time I would like to get involved with WNUR or NBN.
 
What’s your style?
Let’s see…my everyday is style is very casual. I love jeans. However, I really love to dress up, a dress, heels, jewelry, the whole 9 yards. I also have a very sad addiction of shopping for clothes that I’ll probably only wear once and I really hate shoes.