{"id":1476,"date":"2024-10-08T20:01:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T20:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2024-10-30T17:50:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T17:50:25","slug":"jennessa-burks-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennessa Burks \u201915"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1546 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>MAJORS: Elementary Education, Math for Educators<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>PROFESSIONAL: Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Artist\/Muralist, Self-Employed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During my time at Worcester State I was fortunate enough to connect with a few faculty members who saw my potential before I fully recognized it myself. They helped me navigate my way through college as a first-generation student. One professor even allowed my four-year-old to attend class with me so I wouldn\u2019t fall behind. Their guidance and motivation helped me start a career in education immediately upon graduation. They are rooting for my success, and I have been reminded of that each time I have received an email or crossed their paths.<\/p>\n<p>I am inspired every single day by the young people I work with. They consistently show up with a curiosity for learning about the world and willingness to hear one another\u2019s perspectives. They demonstrate a level of empathy and understanding that gives me hope for a better future. Young people are capable of incredible success when provided with guidance, resources, and compassion. They are also capable of being insightful educators when given the opportunity to share their voice, perspectives, and experiences. I hope each young person I work with walks away feeling heard, cared about, and more confident in themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MAJORS: Elementary Education, Math for Educators PROFESSIONAL: Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools Artist\/Muralist, Self-Employed During my time at Worcester State I was fortunate enough to connect with a few faculty members who saw my potential before I fully recognized it myself. They helped me navigate my way through college as a first-generation student. One professor even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7878,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worcester-state-magazine-150th-anniversary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MAJORS: Elementary Education, Math for Educators PROFESSIONAL: Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools Artist\/Muralist, Self-Employed During my time at Worcester State I was fortunate enough to connect with a few faculty members who saw my potential before I fully recognized it myself. They helped me navigate my way through college as a first-generation student. One professor even [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Worcester State Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WorcesterStateUniversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Worcester State Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WorcesterState\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WorcesterState\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Worcester State Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Worcester State Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6a0df320ad2482c0d8418afadaa2f698\"},\"headline\":\"Jennessa Burks \u201915\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":211,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/71\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Worcester State Magazine - 150th Anniversary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/\",\"name\":\"Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/71\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/71\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/1.-Jannessa-Burks.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/71\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/1.-Jannessa-Burks.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":494},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/08\\\/jennessa-burks-15\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jennessa Burks \u201915\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Worcester State Magazine\",\"description\":\"Just another Worcester State University site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Worcester State University\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/WSU_Logo_Seal_Type_Hz-Blue287_display.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/WSU_Logo_Seal_Type_Hz-Blue287_display.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":320,\"caption\":\"Worcester State University\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/WorcesterStateUniversity\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/WorcesterState\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/worcesterstate\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6a0df320ad2482c0d8418afadaa2f698\",\"name\":\"Worcester State Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Worcester State Magazine\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worcester.edu\\\/magazine\\\/author\\\/magazine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University","og_description":"MAJORS: Elementary Education, Math for Educators PROFESSIONAL: Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools Artist\/Muralist, Self-Employed During my time at Worcester State I was fortunate enough to connect with a few faculty members who saw my potential before I fully recognized it myself. They helped me navigate my way through college as a first-generation student. One professor even [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/","og_site_name":"Worcester State Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WorcesterStateUniversity\/","article_published_time":"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Worcester State Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WorcesterState","twitter_site":"@WorcesterState","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Worcester State Magazine","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/"},"author":{"name":"Worcester State Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/6a0df320ad2482c0d8418afadaa2f698"},"headline":"Jennessa Burks \u201915","datePublished":"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/"},"wordCount":211,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg","articleSection":["Worcester State Magazine - 150th Anniversary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/","name":"Jennessa Burks \u201915 | Worcester State University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks-300x296.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-08T20:01:45+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-30T17:50:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2024\/10\/1.-Jannessa-Burks.jpg","width":500,"height":494},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/2024\/10\/08\/jennessa-burks-15\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jennessa Burks \u201915"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/","name":"Worcester State Magazine","description":"Just another Worcester State University site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Worcester State University","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WSU_Logo_Seal_Type_Hz-Blue287_display.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/WSU_Logo_Seal_Type_Hz-Blue287_display.png","width":500,"height":320,"caption":"Worcester State University"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WorcesterStateUniversity\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WorcesterState","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/worcesterstate\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/6a0df320ad2482c0d8418afadaa2f698","name":"Worcester State Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c781d4ff3563177b84d6bc06d78d74ff96ec45d918b9ad96ce6baa85586a701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Worcester State Magazine"},"url":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/author\/magazine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7878"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1476"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2169,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions\/2169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worcester.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}