Jess Clemons
Hometown: West Bloomfield, MI
Program: MA
Book I would recommend: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Favorite Quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” – Steve Jobs
What would people be surprised to know about you?
People would be surprised that I was a competitive dancer before college. I started dancing at age two and continued until I graduated high school. I am trained in ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, and hip-hop. I started competing around age seven and it made me love dance even more.
Name a cause you are passionate about.
I am passionate about advocating for equitable treatment for my population, especially in the mental health field. The Black population receives a lot of wrong diagnoses or doesn’t receive treatment at all due to the lack of knowledge of how symptoms may look in our community. I want to help be a part of breaking the stigma that my population has within the mental health field and be a part of my population receiving the help they need.
Why did you choose MSP?
I chose MSP because of its dedication to the field of psychology. I feel like this school is the perfect first step to reaching my dream occupation.
What do you want to do with your degree?
How did you first get interested in the mental health profession?
I got interested in the mental health profession because of the lack of representation I often see in this field. Representation matters, especially in a field that deals with emotions, feelings, and self-worth. I had a friend who told me he wasn’t going to seek therapy because the therapist he was assigned couldn’t empathize with what he was going through on a personal level due to his therapist being of a different race. I want this to change, and I plan on being a part of that change.
