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Jessica LaPlante

Biography

Profile: Life is full of second chances.  Undergraduate Transfer Scholar Jessica LaPlante is living proof of that.  An honors graduate at age 29 of the College of DuPage in Illinois, Jessica’s journey to higher education was not a straight line but a roundabout trip.  While still in high school, Jessica’s world took a tragic shift when her father died suddenly and with his death her stable home life crumbled.  Forced to drop out of school, she earned her GED and entered the workforce. Eventually she secured a position in contract administration and communications. At this point in her life she realized the college education that was a distant mirage when she was a 16-year-old could become a reality.  All she needed was that second chance...hard work and determination were nothing new to Jessica, she just needed a second chance and that happened as it does with many people in Jessica’s shoes through the local community college.  No surprise to anyone that knows or has worked with Jessica over the years that she thrived academically at the College of DuPage and was a mainstay with various organizations on the campus.

Inspiration:  Dr. Kent Richter, Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the College of DuPage had an immense impact on Jessica when she began her college career. “Whether or not he knows it, he has made it okay for me to be exactly what I am, feeling passionate about what I'm interested in.”

Aspiration:  Jessica, always a deep thinker, wants to eventually teach philosophy at the university level. “I can say that the realization that this was the correct choice for me was daunting, yet inevitable,” said Jessica.  “It has always been my tendency to inquire on value and meaning, but it never occurred to me that this was a formal discipline.”

Making a Difference: Jessica points to the wonderful and lasting relationshships she made during her community college experience as her difference maker.  The welcoming spirit of the faculty, staff and fellow students helped ease the transition into academia. “There is truly an invaluable group of people there (at College of DuPage) who have my best interests at heart and have put the work forward to help me accomplish my goal of teaching philosophy.”

Accolades:  She was an “Honors Scholar” at the College of DuPage and also earned an academic scholarship.

Interesting Fact:  “I am a huge comics fan (Marvel, DC, Top Shelf, Dark Horse, etc.),” Jessica said.  She also confessed that she “can be a huge elitist jerk about music.”

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