Jessica Owens is the Senior Program Manager within the Office for Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS). She has over a decade of experience teaching, supervising, and mentoring students while delivering learning science-based, high impact practices for diverse students in STEM. Jessica has a master’s degree in higher education with a concentration in teaching and is passionate about teaching and learning—particularly about empowering students to take ownership of their own learning. Jessica loves working with students, learning about what inspires them, equipping them to convert their raw passion into applicable skills, and creating a community of practice for student learning and teaching.
She has had the privilege to spend 9 years overseeing Supplemental Instruction (SI) and collaborative study groups and has found great joy in seeing her student employees successfully empowering their students to become independent learners. Jessica has been invited to conducted SI training overseas, she has presented nationally on self-directed learning in SI, she was requested to be the guest speaker for a student employee appreciation event, and she has collaborated on studies into the efficacy of SI as well as the learning gains and experiences of SI leaders. Jessica is intrigued with the challenges and opportunities arising from the transformation occurring within higher education and looks forward to finding new ways to empower and equip students to become independent learners and achieve their goals while creating an environment for them to impact one another by sharing their passions through collaborative learning.
