When asked what inspired her to participate in October’s Bayou’s Best Showcase, Jessica McCraw responded with two words: “My daughter.” The graduate student hoped to set a positive example by getting out of her comfort zone and entering the spotlight, making the showcase a shared experience for the two. McCraw wanted her daughter to think, “there’s nothing wrong with how I am, but it’s okay to take chances. It’s okay to go out there and try new things.”
McCraw’s chance has paid off. After competing against a select group of students across UHD’s four colleges, a panel of university leaders selected McCraw as one of the showcase’s four winners. She now assumes “one of UHD’s highest student leader and ambassador positions” alongside Joe Perez Jr., Shikyna William, and Vanessa Mattox, who were also selected as winners.
“I want to be the voice for the voiceless,” McCraw said, striving to support those “who may not feel comfortable going to ask for help, the people who may not know where to go, or may not know what means and opportunities are really out there for them.” The student said of Bayou’s Best, “It just seems like you may get more connected with individuals that can put change in place.”
McCraw brings a unique perspective as a graduate student, with an impressive academic background under her belt. The student will earn her second master’s degree when she graduates in May, a Master of Business Administration with a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management and Project Management. This accomplishment follows McCraw’s receipt of a master’s in management and a bachelor’s in business from the University of Phoenix. The showcase winner’s schooling plans don’t stop there, though. She now looks forward to applying for her third master’s program in learning design and technology.
McCraw’s back-to-back academic milestones come after discovering a passion for training. After working in recruitment for over 12 years, the student took a job as an Operations Development Manager in May, where she builds training programs, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and training assessments. While the role shares some similarities with her previous work in recruitment, McCraw’s new position represents a career pivot. Overall, the student spoke highly of the change, saying, “I really, really enjoy what I do.”
“I didn’t take the traditional path,” McCraw said, “I went to [college] after high school, yes. And then I stopped, and then I went back at a later age.” While the student acknowledged that enrolling later in life bears its own challenges, she returns with a strong sense of purpose, saying, “Now I know what I want to do. I didn’t know what I wanted to do [when I first enrolled].”
McCraw’s career in training helped her excel at the pageant. She said, “At first, I thought that I was going to be super, super nervous, but I really wasn’t.” She recalled thinking, “You’re going to talk—just like you train your people every day … This is what you do.” McCraw’s advice to future Bayou’s Best contestants evokes a similar sentiment. The student attested to “public speaking skills” and “confidence in speaking to an audience.” She acknowledged that public speaking is “not a strong suit for everybody,” but said, “If you have confidence in who you are, it will come out to the judges.”
Despite her recent success, however, McCraw hopes that the UHD student body continues to view her and the other showcase winners “as equals.” She later said, “We’re just students that want to help, students that want to be involved, and students that want to see everybody succeed. We’re all on the same page.”