Hardworking Mother of Four Earns Education Degree

Jessica Clemons is wrapping up her student teaching placement in a first-grade classroom in Spokane Valley as she prepares to graduate from Eastern Washington University.  

Walking the halls of University Elementary School, Clemons regularly runs into her pre-kindergarten-aged son, Harrison.  

“We are kitty corner from each other in the hallway, and so I get to wave and see him throughout my day. I love where I’m student teaching,” Clemons says. 

When Clemons crosses the stage on June 12, she will graduate with honors, having earned a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education with a minor in environmental sustainability and education.

She balanced her studies while working a part-time job for Eastern’s Transition to Teaching Program, intermittently holding a side gig for a friend who owns a contract mail center, and raising four children: Harrison, 5, Charlotte, 7, Paxton, 9, and Brynlee, 12. 

“It has been quite the couple of years, but I’m on the homestretch now,” says Clemons, a hardworking single mom who has earned Dean’s List honors every quarter since returning to Eastern to finish her degree, nearly three years ago.  

Initially, she planned to teach older students, but a year of working with first graders illuminated another potential career path.  

“I love these little kids,” she says, adding that first-graders have particularly sweet dispositions. 

Clemons, who lives in Spokane Valley and has children attending four different schools, credits part of her success to her brother, parents and friends – people who pitched in to provide rides for the kids – and to supportive faculty and scholarship donors at Eastern. 

Small classes taught by engaged faculty—coupled with well-timed scholarships—helped Clemons overcome obstacles and embrace applied learning opportunities. Clemons says her professors not only believed in her, some of them decided to allow her kids to attend classes when there was a conflict.  

During Clemons’ capstone course, professor Kathryn Baldwin welcomed Clemons’ oldest daughter, Brynlee, to attend and participate in some of the classes. Brynlee created a poster capturing what she learned from her mom’s project and presented it to the capstone class.  

Two years ago, an exhausted Clemons was on the verge of transferring to an online college to finish her degree when Michael Winer, a math professor who initially served as her advisor, noticed she wasn’t registered for the upcoming quarter and called her. Winer helped her work through several challenges to continue on at Eastern. To this day, she says, Winer still plays a positive role in her education. 

Within the School of Education, Suzie Henning and Baldwin provided additional encouragement, pointing her toward scholarships, stipends and a 10-hour-a-week student employment position providing support for students in the Transition to Teaching Program. 

When tough times hit this past December because a roommate moved out suddenly, leaving Clemons to foot the entire rent bill, Eastern’s Student Emergency Fund helped cover the gap, while she picked up extra side jobs to build her own emergency fund.  

Leading into winter quarter, Clemons received the Clawson-Youngs Award in Environmental Studies, allowing her to pursue an environmental science education minor leading into graduation.  

“I feel like if I didn’t have those scholarships, there’s no way I could have said, ‘yeah I’m going to take on a minor in my last two quarters at Eastern.’” 

For her minor and capstone, Clemons used research from the Prairie Restoration Project alongside her own independent study data to create unit plans for educators to use in K-5 classrooms. Clemons aligned the project components with Washington’s Common Core State Standards, the Disciplinary Core Ideas and the Next Generation Science Standards.  

She received an honorarium through the University of Washington to build a literacy library linked to the environmental science units she was creating. The library, which includes about 50 age-appropriate books covering everything from environmental science to prairie habitats and Native American history, aligns with the Prairie Restoration lesson plans.  

“It has been crazy for me. All these little doors that have opened have been just phenomenal.” 

Baldwin, who oversaw Clemons’ capstone project, complimented her work ethic. 

“What impressed me the most about Jessica is her motivation,” Baldwin says. “She always chooses to go above and beyond in all aspects of her degree program.”  

As for the importance of Eastern supporters who provide scholarships, Baldwin says those donors open doors for students like Clemons to work toward additional credentials, such as minors and K-12 add-on endorsements, and live up to their potential. 

Clemons appreciates every scholarship award, recalling that after receiving the Fox Family Education Scholarship, she was able to meet with Tom Fox, the EWU alumnus who started the fund, and thank him in person.  

“He’s phenomenal. He genuinely cares so much about those going into education,” Clemons says.  

Most recently, the hardworking senior received the Last Mile Scholarship. Funded by the Krumble Foundation, the scholarship helps students who are near graduation overcome barriers to meet final requirements to finalize their degrees.  

“That was a huge blessing,” she says, “because now I am full-time student teaching – and it’s not a paid position – so the Last Mile was really there to get me through the last little bit.” 

After graduation, Clemons hopes to work as a full-time elementary teacher in the Central Valley School District, where three of her own children attend school. 

Throughout her time at Eastern, Clemons chronicled the journey with family photos, taken on the Hello Walk outside Showalter Hall. The latest photos feature this super-achieving mom wearing a graduation cap, pictured alongside her four children. 

“It means so much more to me now that I’ve done what I’ve done to have been able to do it with all of my kids,” she says.  

Learn about the many ways you can make a life-changing difference for EWU students by visiting EWU / Give.