PLUS ME Spotlight: Jessica Boro

Dr. Jessica T. Boro served as 1 of PLUS ME’s 100 volunteers last December and shared her story with a classroom of students at Harbor Teach Prep in Wilmington. The students were so inspired by her story, we wanted to bring it to the world.

Jessica’s story begins in California where she and her family are heavily rooted. She is proudly from South LA. Even though she grew up as an only child, Jessica was always in the company of her large family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Her mother went above and beyond to expose her to things that many kids from her neighborhood never had access to. It was this exposure to new people, places, and activities that broadened her perspective and made her more knowledgeable of the world around her.

Growing up, Jessica loved school and was a hard working student, but when it came to comprehension and memorization it was hard for her to retain information and it was eventually discovered that Jessica had and was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). In an effort to keep her away from the prescription medication that is typically given to students with learning challenges, her parents brought her to the Drake Institution of Behavioral Medicine. There she was taught skills that would help her learn how to excel beyond her new diagnosis. Sixth through tenth grade was a challenge for Jessica, as she spent many late nights studying and completing school work that her peers would finish in half the time. Although she struggled academically, Jessica shined on the track field. In high school, she was a star track athlete who knew that she had to maintain a high grade point average in order to stay on her team. It was during this time that Jesica was even more motivated academically and learned how to successfully navigate through her ADD. 

Jessica earned academic and athletic scholarships to multiple colleges during her senior year. She chose to attend Spelman College in Georgia, a historically black college, and continue the legacy of Black academic excellence that her family started. Her time at Spelman, however, was a radical change that she was not expecting. Not only was she far from home, but the strong sense of community she hoped for was interrupted by the classism and prejudice she endured from other Black students on campus. These experiences resulted in her pursuing a domestic exchange to Occidental College in Los Angeles for one year. Through this experience, she learned how to stand tall in who she was and realized that the adversity she faced helped to shape her into the woman she was.

Being a student at both an HBCU and a private institution was a priceless experience that shifted her perspective greatly. Jessica returned to Spelman with a new sense of self and thus graduated with pride. After graduation, she joined Teach For America and served as a teacher for 5 years in the same community she grew up in. Afterwards, Jessica moved to Watts Learning Center where she traveled with her students and expanded her boundaries of teaching. She transitioned to her next role as the Assistant Principal and Director of Curriculum and Instruction for a local charter school. Jessica then earned her Doctorate in Education and currently operates her coaching and consulting company, The Education Experience, LLC. which provides “full service coaching and consultation for students, parents, teachers, and leaders to support and cultivate an excellent experience in education”. 

Jessica wants everyone to know -- especially her students -- that if she can make it despite the many obstacles she faced, then so can they. Her words of advice for our younger, faster generation is to “take a beat” by slowing down to acknowledge and appreciate the peaks and valleys of our journeys. 

Jessica’s story matters and so does yours.