Alumni Spotlight – Jessie Whitlock

When Jessie Whitlock decided to enroll at CWC, she was leaning toward an associates degree in Ag Business in order to further her family’s horse business and cattle operation. At the time, she and her husband had a two year old, a small herd of cows, and “way too many horses.” Jessie wasn’t sure her dream of getting a Bachelor’s degree was possible since there was no way she could uproot her family and all of their animals to leave Fremont County. When she came to campus to sign up for classes and learned about CWC’s new Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) programs, she jumped right in.

Jessie shared that during her 2 ½ years on campus, all of her classes complemented each other and the content and order of the classes made sense. She gained something from each class that she now uses in her business. The CWC community stood out to Jessie as welcoming and inclusive, which she really enjoyed. Coming back to school as a non-traditional student after many years away, she found the culture and community inviting and empowering. Jessie experienced support, help, and genuine care from her instructors which she credits with helping her not only graduate with her Bachelor’s degree, but graduate with highest honors. Her instructors were supportive of Jessie’s family values and got to know her personally, especially her love of horses. 

After graduating in spring 2023, Jessie was fully prepared to take some time off from school and work. She was 8 months pregnant with her second son when she graduated and her four year old was going to be starting preschool so she looked forward to spending as much time with them as possible. Jessie noticed the CWC Equine Instructor position before she had her second son in June and she went back and forth about applying for the position. During her time as a student, she noticed that jobs didn’t pop up often and when they did they were usually filled quickly. Jessie decided to apply and see if she made it through the interview process. She experienced mixed emotions when she found out she got the job – she knew this job would be a way she could share her lifelong knowledge of horses with others, but leaving her 2 ½ month old son was not ideal. Ultimately, she decided to take the position since she already knew how supportive CWC is of family. 

The Equine Instructor position Jessie holds has motivated and empowered her to share the knowledge she has learned from her mentors and to learn  from her students and fellow employees to become the best instructor she can be. Her goal is to influence students and fellow employees with a positive attitude and smile on her face to give them the best experience and motivation that she can. Jessie wants her students to strive to be the best they can and reach for the stars. She will do that by continuing her education and riding skills to offer them the most that she can. 

Jessie credits her CWC BAS degree with making her current position possible and knows it will allow her to continue on to get her Master’s degree in a field like Equine Leadership or business.