Three years ago this blog was created with the intent of posting assignments for classes I was taking online at Washington State University. It appears to have been abandoned shortly after in 2013, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy!

In 2013 I graduated from college, traveled to Cuba and started a term of service with AmeriCorps at Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity. A week before the 10.5 months of service ended, I was crowned as the 2014-2015 Miss Seafair and earned more than $5,000 to go back to school. It was a dream come true and presented life opportunities I could have never imagined for my life and career! The role allowed me to serve at over 150 events throughout the year and it was an honor to be just the second African American women to be selected as Miss Seafair in FORTY years. I continued to pursue my professional goals of working in Public Relations as a Publicist with Three Girls Media. This role introduced me to working from home, media lists, work travel and the exciting world of media and PR.

Within weeks I was invited to speak at several events, including the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia and the chance to be a keynote speaker at Argosy University’s Fall Commencement at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The latter opportunity would lead me to a new work endeavor with EDMC at The Art Institute of Seattle. During my research for my speech at Argosy’s event, I learned they were owned by EDMC, who also owns several other higher education organizations, including The Art Institutes.

The month of December 2014 was a very busy one. I left Three Girls Media to become a High School Representative, meaning I spent 40 hours a week public speaking (talking)! My role allowed me to work from home and  included visiting local high schools to talk about creative careers, my own professional background and The Art Institute of Seattle. I moved into my own one bedroom apartment outside of Capitol Hill in Seattle’s Central District. Before I could move into my new digs I got to travel to Chicago for the first time ever to go through training for my new job.

By January 2015 everything was in full swing. Work was going great and my term of service as Miss Seafair was more than halfway complete. I blinked and it was May 2015 and it was time to meet the Seafair Scholarship Program for Women participants that would make up the Class of 2015. We had a group of 15 amazing women and the top honors went to Second Princess Judilyn Rodriguez, First Princess Jasmine Hart and 2015-2016 Miss Seafair Nella Kwan. In addition to spending time with these fabulous women, I also got to enjoy my summer with Seafair’s 2015 King Neptune and Queen Alycone. The role of King was filled by Mark Dyce-Ryan, a fellow Coug and public relations guru at 206, Inc. Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, the first female test pilot at Boeing.

The Seafair Family at the 2014 Kickoff Event held at Westlake Park in Seattle

With my time as Miss Seafair fully complete, I decided it was time for a new chapter in my life story. Less than a week after I passed on the crown, I also passed on my beloved apartment in Seattle. The looming deadline for the beginning of repayment on my student loans from college was set for August 2015 and I needed to make some cutbacks in my personal budget to fulfill a new monthly financial obligation. I also want to pay the loans back as quickly as possible, so a reduction in rent freed up more cash to do so. While I miss my apartment dearly, I am loving my new townhouse in Tacoma that I share with my best friend, biggest fan and boyfriend, Greg. He and I have known each other for ten years, we first met as freshman at Snohomish High School in art class. We had little patience for each other and didn’t make an effort to hide it either. Time sure has a way of changing things!

By August 2015, I found myself in the 206, Inc. office chatting about a new professional gig as an Associate Manager with the Consumer Engagement team. I made the difficult decision to leave my role at The Art Institute of Seattle to accept the chance to join King Neptune Mark Dyce-Ryan and Miss Seafair 2010-2011 Kisa Nishimoto at 206, Inc.  This new role also brought a new commute – which I love! Everyday, I will spend an hour (each way) to Seattle via the Sounder Train. I love my car dearly but a lovely train ride with WiFi, my laptop and no traffic isn’t too shabby either. August 2015 also brought another incredible honor with Everett Community College, where I was selected as a featured alumni and had my picture shared in an advertisement used in online and print publications, check it out:

Anyway – today is the first day of this new journey, also meaning it is my first day of work at my new job. I’m a little bit nervous and a lot of excited, be sure to stay in touch to follow along on my new chapter of life and love!

-Jasmine