Born to Be a Jimmie

I believe that people are born to do things with their life. Some are born to be teachers, doctors, leaders in the business world; there are certain aspects of life that a person is destined to do or be. For myself, I was born to be a Jimmie.

My mom was a student at UJ (at that time, it was known as JC) when she had me, and then she got a job at the university after she graduated, so I’ve been around campus literally since I was born.

Growing up at UJ

In elementary school, I would go to Raugust and check out books to read or sit in my mom’s office and do homework. In middle school, I would go to the Java Hut and get a smoothie, practice piano in the Reiland, or go to the basketball games. In high school, I went to as many plays, musicals, and concerts that I had time to go to. During the summers, I would walk Dr. Badal’s dogs or water his flowers.

Passion for performing arts

The events I remember the most vividly were the performing arts: concerts, musicals, plays, and recitals. The first musical I ever saw was Annie Get Your Gun at the Reiland when I was 5; they had a real horse come on stage and for 5-year old Elise, that was pretty exciting. I remember going to piano concerts and as an elementary kid, being bored out of my mind. As I got older, I kept going to concerts and eventually went on my own, instead of being dragged along by my mom. Watching performances got me fired up; all I could think was, “I want to be a part of this one day.”

Proud to be a Jimmie

The day came for me to decide where to go to college, and the only place I could think of was the University of Jamestown; I didn’t have a back-up or apply anywhere else. I knew this was where I belonged. Now, here I am, a sophomore music education major at UJ.

University of Jamestown is and always has been home to me; orange and black run through my veins. I’m proud to be a Jimmie and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.