Jessica Stockton King
“I actually think this starts day one when they start the program, because many people have been recommended for opportunities by classmates. To me, there isn’t always a specific job searching time period– you start to build relationships, and your reputation at orientation. What are you excited about? Make sure your friends know about it. People often want to help you if they know what drives you.”
#WomenWhoBuild, meet Jessica Stockton King!
Jessica is the Senior Associate Director of Academic Affairs for the Columbia University GSAPP program. In her role, Jessica works with prospective and enrolled students, faculty, alumni, and guest speakers in order to foster community, create value, and provide guidance. Her presence is a critical component of the program and her counsel is pivotal in the transition students face from their academic to their professional careers.
We sat down with Jessica to discuss her career trajectory, the most valuable lesson she has learned through her work, and her biggest piece of advice for students just starting on their career journey.
You are the Senior Associate Director of Academic Affairs at Columbia University GSAPP. Can you tell us a little bit about this role and your day to day?
Absolutely, so it sounds cliche, but it’s one of those positions where every day is a little different. My job involves working with current students enrolled in the program, prospective students, faculty, alumni, and guest speakers from the broader industry. The students come from all over the world, with backgrounds in architecture, finance, real estate, consulting, planning, and engineering. You name it, we’ve had that person as a student. Model, psychologist, high school principal, publishing CEO– anything can translate to real estate development. Students are my favorite– we have a somewhat lean team, so we really rely on the MSRED students to step up and pursue their interests within the program to help create the co-curricular programming. They write the mission statements, decide on the club structure, any potential speakers they want to invite, any building tours to schedule, and then run with it. It is my job to help them if they get stuck along the way. Involvement is so important to get the most out of grad school, and I encourage everyone who is up for it to take on some kind of leadership position.
So a student could swing by to talk about a club they were thinking of starting, ask for advice with a tricky situation, show me a list of classes they were thinking about, or tell me about a cool lecture happening in another program. Prospective students call and email all the time– sometimes in high school or years before they apply to grad school. One prospective student first called me in 2003, and finally graduated from the program in 2013. Some mornings I’m writing a reference letter, and others I’m scheduling a building tour with an alum who has invited students to visit an active construction site.
I’m enthusiastic about finding opportunities for the Columbia MSRED students, and connecting them with lectures, networking events, symposia, professional organizations, mentorship leads, or even just fun stuff happening on the Columbia campus or in NYC. That could be a yoga class, a world leader speaking on campus, a therapy dog swinging by the Law School, or an energy symposium. This is the time for them to explore. We’re so spoiled by everything that is happening on a daily basis in NYC, and oftentimes you can have new experiences without it costing anything. I really like working with students who think they don’t belong here– like if someone has imposter syndrome I’m all over it. I felt that way when I first moved to NYC for college, but it was temporary. They absolutely belong here, and if they don’t feel that way, let’s fix it. I like an old school pep talk.
What led you to pursue a career in Higher Education? What led you to specialize in the GSAPP program?
I fell into it, but I’ve always loved higher ed. In high school, I was the kid who would recommend specific colleges to friends (I’d bring them applications, and sometimes they picked them). But I first started as a work-study in the GSAPP Admissions Office when I was 19, as a sophomore at Columbia College. When I graduated in 2003, they offered me a full-time role with the MSRED Program, and I kept working with the program as it evolved and changed over the years. I feel really lucky that I could pursue part-time graduate degrees along the way at Pratt and Teachers College, and these have informed my work. Right now I’m working on my EdD in Adult Learning and Leadership. Real estate is so interdisciplinary (kind of like American Studies), and I like being able to encourage more students to learn about sustainability, affordable housing, and design, so that they can carry that forward. I also don’t regularly get to use my Library Science degree, but I do enjoy research and connecting students with fantastic resources at the Columbia University Libraries, NYPL, and BPL.
What is the most valuable lesson you've learned in your career? What has been the most challenging aspect of your career and the most rewarding?
Tell the truth, and always try to be kind. It’s better to let people know earlier if you think something won’t work out. They’ll respect you for it vs. always trying to be a ‘yes person.’ I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I’ve been hollered at by plenty of people that regretted it later, and trying to shake things off makes it easier to move on with your day. No one is perfect, I’m certainly not.
The most challenging thing is when we lose potential students that I would love to have because they need more financial aid. I wish that there were scholarships for everyone who could benefit from them, and I think we’ll get there someday. I’m inspired by the work that Ernst Valery (MSRED ‘04) is doing with the Aequo Fund, and that Cedric Bobo is doing with Project Destined. I’m hoping that more companies will fund promising students who are passionate about building communities.
The most rewarding part is when I see someone change their lives because of a relatively short one-year program. It’s gratifying to see students make friends with people that they would never have met otherwise, refer each other for jobs, and stay in touch 15+ years later. I love the spring semester when students have positive internship or job news. I get really excited about other people’s good news, especially when it’s something they’ve been hoping for and working for intensely. The alumni are also amazing, and many of them have stayed in touch to pay it forward for future cohorts.
What aspects of your own higher education do you utilize in your everyday?
We can all be students, right? So even if I’m 50, 60, 70, 80, informal learning doesn’t need to stop. If something interests you, there are more resources than ever to pursue what you’re curious about– I love that. I also love learning from others. I’m in a longtime book club, and they’re constantly teaching me things that I didn’t expect to learn. So much of that happens through conversation, with people we’re comfortable with, but with different perspectives and life experiences.
Years ago, I took a class from Dr. Michel Alhadeff-Jones at TC focused on leadership and self-development, and I found the exercise of writing and discussing life history narratives to be very powerful. I’d recommend any students starting a graduate program or a new position to try to work reflective practices into their day-to-day lives. This could be by keeping a journal, joining a discussion group, or becoming involved with a community of practice.
I’ve taken several workshops by Dr. Stephen Brookfield over the years, and one of his books with Dr. Stephen Preskill is called Learning as a Way of Leading: Lessons from the Struggle for Social Justice. It’s a great book for anyone who wants to consider what leadership can look like in the real world, as well as alternative models for leadership. It’s not about titles, but instead about the work, and how you’re living and working with others.
Your guidance is a critical component of so many students' success as they transition from academia to a professional career. What is your biggest piece of guidance for students as they look to build their careers and seek their first jobs?
Ooooh, this is something I think about a lot. I actually think this starts day one when they start the program, because many people have been recommended for opportunities by classmates. To me, there isn’t always a specific job searching time period– you start to build relationships, and your reputation at orientation. What are you excited about? Make sure your friends know about it. People often want to help you if they know what drives you.
In general, I would recommend trying to be considerate and affable, showing up on time, honoring your commitments, and becoming that go-to person. Everybody can add value to a workplace– are you someone that people don’t mind seeing everyday? I’ve seen so many people get hired over the years, and it’s often not the people with perfect scores on their modeling tests that get hired first. (Don’t get me wrong, for some jobs, that’s all that matters!). It varies, but many people are drawn to individuals who are positive, forthright, who treat themselves and others with respect, who boost up their colleagues and give credit where credit is due, who are dependable, and who are down to roll up their sleeves and help out. Be someone on your team that people will trust. Oh, and always, always treat people in the service industry, executive assistants, and administrative assistants well. Of course you should treat everyone well, but I feel like I have 5,000 personal and anecdotal examples of why this is solid advice.