Name: Jessica Sharp
Hometown: Fall Church, Virginia
Program: Urban Education Policy
Undergraduate Institution and Major: College William & Mary, transferred to Brown University, English Literature
What drew you to the UEP program at Brown?
I had always considered a fifth-year program, specifically, a master's in teaching at William and Mary when I was going there. So I was initially considering the MAT program after graduating from Brown. I switched to urban education policy because I didn’t see myself teaching immediately out of undergrad. I wanted to know more about education governance and policy since I’d only dipped my toes in the ed department as an undergrad here, especially since I transferred to Brown right before the pandemic hit.
What has been your favorite UEP class and why?
My favorite class has been Contemporary Indigenous Education with Dr. Adrienne Keene. I took this as my elective course because it was something I felt wasn’t part of my undergraduate or graduate curriculum, but should have been. The class had such a supportive camaraderie to it, and even though I’m not a member of the indigenous communities that many of my classmates are connected to, there was a great sense of community in the classroom that was felt by all. I was also excited about my final project because I shared the course content with my peers in the UEP program. We were able to talk about some of the work that’s being done here by the Narragansett and the Wampanoag, and also discuss how our own work could potentially reflect the relational values that we touched on in the course.
Where is your internship placement and what are you working on?
My internship placement is with Fairfax County’s Rec-PAC Program, a summer day camp with a focus on leisure and recreation skills for elementary-aged children. We serve about 4,000 campers in the Fairfax County area each year. It’s a longstanding program in the county, and is the primary summer recreation activity for the majority of our campers. In my role as an area supervisor, I am currently revising our hiring and training practices, and will implement these changes this coming summer. I also do administrative work, like contacting vendors and contractors, ordering supplies, and doing inventory. My supervisor is typically the only year-round employee for this program, so there are a lot of odd jobs that I pick up for him when I’m around.
Why this specific internship versus other options?
This upcoming year will be my 4th year with Rec-PAC, and my first as an area supervisor. I was (and still am!) interested in doing something in Providence, but for me this internship presented an opportunity to make improvements to an important program in an education system that I’ve been involved with my whole life. I think it’s really special that I’m able to attend this program and bring my experiences back to my home, and that it might benefit students in the same schools that I attended as a kid. That said, I think it is very important for students at Brown (and the university as a whole) to support the work that the Providence community is conducting to improve education in the district.
How did your undergraduate education and any previous work experience lead or motivate you to pursue a master's in urban education policy?
I had gone to William and Mary expecting to graduate and become a high school English teacher, because, like many people in UEP and MAT, I was inspired by my own teachers who were able to connect with and support me as a young student. After I transferred to Brown, I took my first education course, Sociology of Education, and learned some of the more theoretical aspects and empirical components of education. That course inspired me to continue taking education courses, and I was like, wow, why isn't everybody studying education? I felt like it was something that, as students, we could all connect to.
Then, I did work at my summer camp, which I sort of see as a microcosm of the education system. I admired the high level of care in how my supervisors talked about Rec-PAC. There’s a constant conversation about how we’re going to make camp accessible to the kids who need it most—which elementary schools we’ll be at each year and which of those will be lunch sites, how we’re going to better prepare staff to support campers’ emotional needs, what amenities and activities we can offer that will make Rec-PAC a comparable value to the high dollar camps nearby.
Like many organizations in education, my internship isn’t perfect. Our staff receive limited training and tend to experience burnout and high turnover rates. Sometimes, I see the deficit attitudes and biases that I read about in my education courses replicated at camp, even by previous leadership. This is especially worrisome to me, because these supervisors model this behavior for our younger staff members and campers, and also often work as teachers during the school year. I feel compelled to go into the education sector to interrupt some of these harmful practices, and to model the type of compassionate, thoughtful, and well-informed mentorship that I valued most as a student and employee.
What is your favorite part about living in Providence and being at Brown?
Ever since I first visited 6 years ago, I’ve just really liked Providence. I like how it feels like a little city, and how close it is to places like Boston and New York. It’s also a really great community—people care so much about their work and the people they work with. That’s something I’ve noticed from my professors and colleagues, but also from the many community organizations and grassroots movements in Providence, like PLEE and the Providence Student Union. There’s a lot of empowerment and active community voice here, and I feel like that’s something really unique to Providence.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I cook a lot. I actually barely get takeout because I cook so often, and I like what I make! I also like baking. I used to do it more as a kid, but I’ve been getting back into it recently because I joined this group called Cake4Kids. Local organizations will post requests for baked goods, usually for birthdays, and then volunteers will bake, decorate, and deliver those requests. I really love the decorating. My next request is for cupcakes with mini artworks on them, so I’m excited to do that over spring break. I also spend a lot of time with my cat, Titmouse. She’s a funny little thing.
What excites you the most about your post-graduation plans?
I’m staying in Providence! Doing what exactly, I’m not quite sure, but I think it will have something to do with extra or co-curricular program management since that’s what my professional background is in. I’m definitely excited to graduate and have more of a work-life balance. This is also the first time in 20 years that I won’t be in school, which is a little frightening. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later!
What is one way you center yourself or work on your mental health while being a graduate student with many other responsibilities?
As one of our professors sometimes teasingly says, It’s for the kids! When I’m in the classroom, I get to know the youth, we joke around together, and I remember the people I’m working for. Our coursework isn’t just abstract ideas or theoretical concepts. I feel like we often get lost in our classes, and sometimes it can honestly get a little hopeless. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to be in the classroom every week because of the research I’m involved in, and I’m excited to get back to my campers in the summer. They’re really special kids, and it’s good to remember that it’s their futures that our work is investing in.
What are you excited about in the spring semester?
I’m excited to see everyone’s capstones fall into place in May, and also to see the next steps for the various research projects that my classmates and I have been part of. I’ve been on the teaching team for Dr. Collins’s work on participatory budgeting, and I know a couple of other UEPs are involved in this project, too. I think there are a couple of other classes and research projects that UEPs float around getting involved in. Everyone is genuinely so passionate about their work, and is also involved in so many projects at once! I can’t wait to see where people end up in their work by the end of this semester—in just a couple of months!