FutureProof Podcast

Against All Odds: Jasmine McGowan

• Cincinnati State • Season 2 • Episode 3

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Jasmine McGowan - Paralegal Specialist at United States Attorneys' Offices J.D. Candidate at NKU Salmon P. Chase College Law

Meet Jasmine McGowan, a Cincinnati State alumna whose inspiring journey led her to become a paralegal specialist. Her story is one of resilience and determination.

Jasmine shares how vision boards, supportive connections, and balancing motherhood with law school ambitions have shaped her path. Currently pursuing her law degree at NKU Chase College of Law, she has shown academic perseverance, even handling nine classes while pregnant.

Tune in to hear her compelling career journey, candid reflections, and the motivational tools that kept her focused. This episode of FutureProof offers valuable insights and light-hearted moments.


Credits

  • Jayne Dressing…..Host
  • Eimee Donbar…….Host
  • Jasmine McGowan…….Guest
  • Jamal Lundy…….Intro/Outro Voice Over
  • Nozina Eshkobilova….Student Producer/ Production Assistant
  • Nathan Bell….Student Engineer
  • Brittany King……..Digital Marketing
  • Jacqueline Norton…….Marketing and Advertising
  • Joey Hickey…….Graphic Design

Special Thanks to:

  • Michael Tekulve……..AVP Studio Director
  • David Killen…….AVP Program Chair
  • Geoffery Woolf…..Dean Humanities and Sciences
  • Amy Waldbillig…….VP Workforce Development Department


Jamal Lundy:

What is it that makes us resilient? What is it that makes some people pursue their goals and chase their dreams in spite of the roadblocks and challenges? What if all we needed was an opportunity? Imagine if we trusted our talents, our abilities and our strengths, then took a chance on ourselves. Future Proof is a Cincinnati State faculty and student-created podcast where students, alumni and employers share adventures and learning outside of the classroom. Come with us as we share our students' stories of resiliency and overcoming the odds. See what happens when we finally stop saying no and stop saying yes.

Jayne Dressing:

Hello and welcome to Future Proof. I am Jane Martin Dressing and I'm Amy Donbar.

Jayne Dressing:

We're coming at you from Studio 459 on the Cincinnati State campus, and Future Proof, if you haven't listened, is a podcast where we highlight alumni experiences from Cincinnati State and share what their time was like in community college and what's happened since they left us. Today we have a very special guest who is near and dear to my heart. She is a former student from the Associate of Arts degree, one of my students in class and one of my co-ops, and also highly successful in her field and a future lawyer we have Ms.

Jayne Dressing:

Jasmine McGowan with us here today. Welcome, Jasmine. Thank you for having me.

Eimee Donbar:

Welcome. Thanks for coming to Studio 459.

Jayne Dressing:

Is that even the right number? It is, I promise. Okay, it is Because I kind of made that up, did you?

Eimee Donbar:

Yeah, I was just Somebody run outside and look at the studio number.

Jayne Dressing:

I thought we needed to call it a name the place, the name of the place that we are.

Eimee Donbar:

Okay so.

Jayne Dressing:

Okay, okay. I just want listeners to know that I'm operating on one cup of coffee, which is three down for me.

Eimee Donbar:

So I'm on one and a half.

Jayne Dressing:

I have I've listened to some previous podcasts and you thought it was you needed to get the unleaded go down a little bit.

Eimee Donbar:

I needed to shift down, shift down.

Jayne Dressing:

So, jasmine, you are a graduate from Cincinnati State to I think we figured out it was 2018. Graduate from Cincinnati State to I think we figured out it was 2018. And you went on to the University of Cincinnati to get your degree and this is a great story. I love when this happens because this is started to happen. I've been here 15 years, so it started to happen that my students who graduated are now employers. They're now people who are hiring students. And I walk into our job fair a few years ago and there's Jasmine with Hamilton County probation probation and I was like what, oh, jade? And I thought I am going to give it to her now because she put me through it a little bit. I can't wait. Oh, I can't wait to get into this. I'm sending her all the wild cards. That's what I thought.

Eimee Donbar:

Well, let's get into this, let's get so. So, jasmine, how did you get to Cincinnati State? Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got to us?

Jasmine Patterson:

Completely honest, transparent moment. So I initially was at UC and then after UC, I came here. It was just one of those moments where I wasn't doing well right out of high school. I wasn't doing well right out of high school, I wasn't disciplined enough, so I needed to, you know, shift down.

Jamal Lundy:

Shift down.

Jayne Dressing:

We've never heard this before. No, that's not coming up. We've never heard this story.

Jasmine Patterson:

But, then I just had to like focus a little bit and then I felt like Cincinnati State was better for me. I think I took a tour and I seen the class sizes and met a few professors and I was just like this is a good way to not only save money but to be able to actually build meaningful connections and just learning how to appreciate taking smaller steps to, you know, get things done.

Eimee Donbar:

And your story is not unlike a lot of students' story where they started out somewhere else. I worked in advising for a long time. They started out somewhere else and said, oh, that didn't work. Let me reevaluate my path. This is the right path. So they didn't come here first, but came here to us and found some success.

Jayne Dressing:

So they didn't come here first, but came here to us and found some success. So what do you think was like a meaningful moment or a beneficial moment at Cincinnati State that really helped you kind of decide. Here's what's next for me. This is, I'm going to keep going on to a four year degree. Did you know that coming in, or were you like, let me just see what happens.

Jasmine Patterson:

I did know that, coming in, that I wanted to get the whole four year degree. Did you know that coming in, or were you like let me just see what happens? I did know that, coming in, that I wanted to get the whole four year degree. It was always my, my idea of what I wanted to do. It was always a goal of mine, but also my mom's goal of mine too.

Jayne Dressing:

Oh, yes, I remember many conversations about your mom. Sorry, mom, we love you mom, but I do remember.

Jasmine Patterson:

And so I did know I wanted to finish where I wanted to go. I didn't know, I didn't really want to stay in Cincinnati. But you know, once I was here and I kind of established the connections I needed, I was like just go to UC, and so it just happened that way.

Jayne Dressing:

These were some conversations sometimes we'd have in my office where Jasmine was like I'm just leaving.

Jasmine Patterson:

I'm done.

Jamal Lundy:

I'm out.

Jayne Dressing:

I'm done, I was like where are you going? So come on, Get your resume done.

Eimee Donbar:

Turn it in. So how did you meet Jane Dressing and how did you come to work with Jane?

Jayne Dressing:

Did I take the class first? It was the 9 am class that started at 9.20 for. Jasmine. I was late too, all the time Alternative start times. She was late, but she had breakfast, so she could have been on time. Oh my gosh, that was right.

Jasmine Patterson:

The bakery was right outside.

Eimee Donbar:

Oh yeah, shout out to Bakery Hill. Yeah, all right. Yeah, Right there.

Jasmine Patterson:

And so I think I had your class first and then from there something just told me. You know, I should probably just stay around her, because she knows what she's talking about.

Eimee Donbar:

That's how I feel. That's what I've done. I met her and I was like I ain't going anywhere.

Jayne Dressing:

I hitched my car to Jane. I'm like let's go She'd see me in the hall and try to run the other way.

Eimee Donbar:

And I was like you can run, but you can't hide, I will find you we call that. Jane talks about herself sometimes in third person and we call that the jane stir.

Jasmine Patterson:

So you, that's her alternate personality the jane stir like no, no, no, yeah, all right, but yeah, so after I had took her class, um, were you my I think you were my advisor as well. Co-op coordinator, you were my advisor, so I kind of turned you into my advisor as well, okay, and who it was? Another office next to you. Um, it was another lady next to you. I can't remember who that was, but yeah, it's probably Jen Jen Martin yes she's the program chair okay between?

Jayne Dressing:

the two of us. We were like we're getting this girl out of here and we were launching her. She is getting launched you did it.

Jamal Lundy:

You did it on your own you did it on your own, you did it on your own, and then okay.

Jayne Dressing:

So then you, you got a job at the.

Jasmine Patterson:

Boys and Girls Club. I did. I was at the Boys and Girls Club, um, and then I picked up shelter house. Through you, through here, through you, you helped me get that too, um, and then which I was working crazy hours and coming to school, I think that was like the, my last um little stretch of school when I was working crazy hours and coming to school. I think that was like my last little stretch of school when I was working both those jobs and coming to school. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't sleeping at all.

Jayne Dressing:

I love that they hired her at boys and girls club after hooters, I mean I would have liked to see that resume.

Eimee Donbar:

Development on your part, friend, she did amazing she I know, trust me, I know okay so, so so were you working at two sites during your experiential learning.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was. Okay, I was. I had the thought that I was gonna stop. I eventually I did stop working at Boys and Girls Club because it became really hard.

Jayne Dressing:

Um, it was just too they loved her, the kids loved her. Yeah, I mean, that was a real, it was a huge shift for you work-wise. And I think you know what you wanted to do. You were realizing was— I realized a lot while I was at.

Jasmine Patterson:

Boys and Girls Club. I realized that—because at first I wanted to be a probation—a juvenile probation officer and then I realized that I didn't want to be in the position where I had to place consequences on a child that really didn't have—it wasn't his fault why he was in the environment that he was in. So I didn't want to be put in that position. And then I was like, okay, I think it's easier for me to work with adults. That way I can feel better holding them accountable for their actions. It was just easier on my like mental. So, yeah, that's why I had switched over, or I was already at Shelter House and it was. That was an experience like I was my first time being within that population and really, like you know, just engaging Shelter House listeners is a homeless shelter for men and women.

Jayne Dressing:

Homeless shelter for men and women. They have two sides and they are sort of a full-service organization that's providing food, shelter, treatment, medical support, case management, job support, all kinds of things. So it's really kind of a one-stop service Supp kind of a one-stop um, um supposed to be.

Jayne Dressing:

One stop supposed to be yeah, yes, and so that was kind of working with adults, working with people all backgrounds. I mean, you really do see it, my uh, career started out working, um, with a homeless population and it is like every element of you know know, there's poverty, there's mental health, there's domestic violence, there's substance, there's you know, criminal background, there's all the things, and you're really like, all right, which one of these things can I focus on and be good at? One of these things am I can I focus on and be be good at? You know, um?

Eimee Donbar:

so, after shelter, house, you get over to the big school, you go back to UC. I go back to UC up the hill.

Jayne Dressing:

What was your confidence like heading back to UC? Did it?

Jasmine Patterson:

feel different it did feel different. I felt better. I felt more accomplished, I felt more equipped, I felt I was ready, more disciplined. It was just. I felt better. I felt more accomplished, I felt more equipped, I felt I was ready, more disciplined. It was just. I felt better. That I was like OK, now it's time, it's time to knock this out. I seen that I can knock this out, cincinnati State out. It's time to knock this out the park and keep going, and so I built the connections there. I didn't meet Sue Birkin till my last year, though, but I built the connections, took my classes, and I was no longer working at Shelter House.

Jayne Dressing:

I went back to Hooters okay, we're going to edit that. Cut that out.

Eimee Donbar:

Jason, cut it out it doesn't fit our story, jasmine.

Jasmine Patterson:

I'm only joking. Faculty involvement it doesn't fit our story, Jasmine?

Jayne Dressing:

Okay, that's fine, I'm only joking. I'm only joking. Faculty involvement no but yeah so you.

Jasmine Patterson:

It was a schedule conflict. I couldn't. They needed me to work certain hours and. I couldn't, and you know, waitressing was just.

Eimee Donbar:

It's a lot of money.

Jasmine Patterson:

It is Waitressing, I put myself through school waiting tables, yeah and it was easier because they worked with my school schedule and it was just way easier at the time. It got me through school, you know. I eventually, you know, switched over to Belterra, still waitressing.

Jasmine Patterson:

But it was just easier with the school schedule, honestly. And you did criminal justice, yes, criminal justice and psychology. And then where did I do my co-op at? I believe that's when I did my last year or the summer before my last year. That's when I got with Sue Burke and she's faculty at UC Tremendous Was she program chair.

Eimee Donbar:

Ahead of the program there. I can't and we had a. Jasmine and I and a? Uh jasmine and I and sue. Both jasmine and I and jane both know sue. I worked with sue uh burke, uh, oh gosh, 21 years ago. I was an academic advisor for the criminal justice program at UC and I advised them and so I met all the faculty there and then she became your connection. But it sounds like one of the keys to your success that you were talking about before was that you, you need to find your people.

Eimee Donbar:

You need to find your support, so you found Jane and Jen Martin and said hey, we're going to get through this together. And then at UC you found Sue Burke, faculty member, and she helped you get through that. What else has helped you on your path to success?

Jasmine Patterson:

Staying focused, motivated. I was one of those who would literally write. I went to the dollar store and I got postcards like not postcards, but it was like little postcards, like poster board, and I wrote down motivating words and I posted it around my room. So when I woke up or if I was sat, down Like a vision board yeah you ever seen the Secret?

Jayne Dressing:

No, is it a movie?

Jasmine Patterson:

It's like a movie, it's a secret, and it was one of those like if you see it every day, manifestation things like that, and it just really helped me. Okay, I'm going to look it up and so yes, just staying motivated, believing in myself and just staying focused. I just knew I didn't want to work at Hooters for the rest of my life.

Jamal Lundy:

I didn't want to work at Hooters for the rest of my life.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yes, so you know. You see a bigger future for yourself.

Jayne Dressing:

So you're just like. You just had to put yourself in that.

Eimee Donbar:

Do you think Hooters would maybe be a sponsor? We're going to ask them. Okay, all right, we're going to keep moving on. We're going to leave it in there. Leave it in there, jason, never mind.

Jasmine Patterson:

So you get this faculty an internship as you're graduating yes, parole. So I interned with parole, loved it and honestly I loved it so much it felt like a light bulb in my head and I loved it and they wanted me back. They told me after you graduate apply.

Jasmine Patterson:

Okay, I did that. Yeah, and at this time I was working at pre-trial. I had got the job at pre-trial, maybe the semester before I graduated, and I graduated, applied for parole and I got through to the last, last step and they told me no. They told me no because they said that my driving record was I was a liability and I'm just you know, I had all those tickets.

Eimee Donbar:

You know it was because of Cincinnati State. Honestly, oh, oh.

Jayne Dressing:

No, I think she was driving too fast to get to Hooters on time.

Jasmine Patterson:

It wasn't to get to your class, I mean because you came with breakfast 20 minutes late.

Jayne Dressing:

She was driving so fast to get to my class, Jasmine.

Jasmine Patterson:

we heard all the things you cannot Miss, dressy literally, I think you closed the door at like 9.08. You were like don't come in here, be in here at a certain time, 9.08, it started at 9.

Eimee Donbar:

Yeah, probably Did you say that's unfair. I was there contending that 908 isn't fair.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was there at 9.07 and 57 seconds with my muffin.

Jayne Dressing:

And I probably got there at 9.05.

Eimee Donbar:

No true story. But the Jane-ster. You can't mess with the Jane-ster. Okay, so you had all these parking.

Jayne Dressing:

You had speeding. It was the carless pack when you get it together.

Jasmine Patterson:

I had a few speeding, quite a few speeding. It was the parking. Call us back when you get it together. I had a few speeding, quite a few speeding.

Eimee Donbar:

And you're blaming Cincinnati State for that. A few it was the parking.

Jasmine Patterson:

It was the parking. You had parking tickets from Cincinnati State. Yes, I don't think Cincinnati State.

Jayne Dressing:

I think it could have been no no, no, she would park on the street, on the street I parked on.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yeah, they got me every time with that fire hydrant.

Eimee Donbar:

Every single time. I can't, I can't.

Jayne Dressing:

If they were.

Eimee Donbar:

Cincinnati parking tickets.

Jayne Dressing:

They're like we're not sure with the criminal justice, because if you don't know that, you're not supposed to park by the fire hydrant.

Eimee Donbar:

No, I thought that one, I thought that one. Oh, okay, I thought that one. She got her measuring stick out and took a photo of the measurement of it. I was going to try to take, like your experience with speeding and parking tickets, and add that to your experiential learning process.

Jamal Lundy:

But you're not helping me with that.

Jasmine Patterson:

I'm sorry, I just got to be truthful. It was bad, it was bad.

Eimee Donbar:

It was bad, okay, so you didn't get the job with Pearl because of your Not right away. Not right away.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yeah, because of the liability and my driving record it was terrible, honestly this is why I didn't have a car in college Because it was bad yeah. So then from there, so I stayed at pre-trial and maybe two months in. The crazy thing is I just emailed my supervisor. I had a really good relationship with my supervisor at pretrial and I was like you know, I want to go to probation. I think I told them this like maybe before I even graduated.

Jayne Dressing:

They were going to put her on probation. This is where I wanted to go.

Eimee Donbar:

What are you doing at pretrial, can you tell? Our listeners a little bit about what that is.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yes, so pretrial, what I did was everybody that got arrested I did their paperwork. So incoming clients, defendants, people who came in who got arrested I would ask them a series of questions like their background, and then ultimately call whoever they wanted me to call to let them know they were in there and you could call back at a certain time to know their bond to get out, and then or that was like if I worked second shift or third shift Now first shift.

Jasmine Patterson:

You deal with a lot of the court. Where they go to court, they figure out what their bond is, what they're going to do, what's going on, and then you just sign them out and their you know, or bond figure that out from there. But yeah, that's pretty much what pretrial is.

Eimee Donbar:

So okay, so you're, you're telling folks hey, I want to get to probation in pretrial, I want to go to probation.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yeah, he knew that, like my, supervisor and I was like, yeah, I want to go to probation. I was very vocal about where I wanted to go. I was honest, um you know good for you yeah.

Jasmine Patterson:

So whenever, whenever I got there, I just you know you build those connections I was very I was trying to build my. I'm forever building my network and trying to meet new people. Uh, so after pre-trial, uh, or probation, wait, sorry, kind of lost my train of thought. So I went to. I eventually got probation switched over to there. Good, my supervisor. Oh you know what. I skipped over a whole part, that's okay. I interned at probation as well. Okay. So they knew my face over there too I know they did so.

Jasmine Patterson:

They knew my face over there too, so I did that too. I interned at probation and parole and then when I graduated, it was just easier for me to slip over there because they knew who I was Right. I did really good at my internships because I knew I was either going to land at probation or parole. Of course you did so. I got to probation and I loved it. I honestly thought that was going to be the last step. That was my career. Let's go. I'm here. You were building it.

Jayne Dressing:

I was building it. You're building your career.

Jasmine Patterson:

So I stayed in. When I first went into probation I was in the general unit, which is kind of just like everybody or whatever in the felony division and common police, and I realized I didn't want to stay there. I wanted to build a little bit more rapport with my clients, I wanted to help people, you know, and so I transferred over to drug court, which was dealing with addiction. It was under Judge Sanders and after that I went to parole and then I was only at parole for three months because I had an interview with the Department of Justice in May of last year, oh jay. And then they called me back eight months later and was just like hey, you got the job, thank you, it took it.

Jayne Dressing:

I just listeners. It took eight months to for the uh parking tickets to get cleared up.

Jasmine Patterson:

The parking tickets are already like gone by then I was just like why, did it take them eight months to call and then they were just like. It just takes that long and I was like okay, yeah, this is serious.

Eimee Donbar:

The Department of Justice has to do extensive background checks. It takes a long time when it's the federal government.

Jasmine Patterson:

But when I went into it, into the, the interview, honestly I as much as I was, so I was just so happy and blessed that I even got my name in that room and I was just like, if I don't get it, I'm just happy. My name reached the room and so I didn't go into it. Just I didn't go into it like hey, I just gotta you know uptight, or anything like that. I was just like Jasmine, breathe, be honest, be real, be yourself, and like just do it. So I left out of there, like they made me feel like I didn't get the job and I was just like at least I got there, you know, at least I had the interview and then they called me back and I was like you actually liked me.

Jasmine Patterson:

So, um yeah, I didn't think I was going to get the job. I didn't think I was gonna get the job. I didn't think I got the job. It was eight months later, so when they called me I was in the car after, like parole boot camp and honestly, and I was just like after a day.

Jayne Dressing:

Can I ask if there was ever a law and order influence? Do you?

Jasmine Patterson:

know absolutely, was this absolutely growing?

Jayne Dressing:

up yes, yes because I feel like I wanted to be a detective and everything I loved it okay, I sometimes. I sometimes try to shoot down that dream with students.

Jasmine Patterson:

Like listen, it's not like it is like tv show, it is oh, okay okay, I wish you could see this girl's face on the county side.

Jamal Lundy:

No, on the federal side, absolutely.

Jasmine Patterson:

Just like the shows.

Jayne Dressing:

It is All right. Ok, she can't, she's sworn, a secrecy, she can't tell anymore. We always ask about first days and any kind of awkward situation that happened on the first day or first day stories and you kind of have a funny first day story at the Department of Justice, which is a big job. This is a big deal.

Jasmine Patterson:

So the US attorney I had a few conversations with him. He's a very nice guy down to earth. Just his energy is a little intimidating.

Eimee Donbar:

He just tall, that's what it is, but and he's a district attorney right, you're not gonna sing Martin Short in that role, right like you've got yeah.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was just like so the first. It was like the first week and you know it's my first week in this really um important.

Jayne Dressing:

I felt role.

Jasmine Patterson:

And I'm just like don't mess up, don't smile too much, just do your job, jasmine. So I was in one of my supervisors at the time. She's been promoted since I started and I was in her office, you know, just asking her questions and things like that Getting onboarded.

Jayne Dressing:

You're onboarding, yeah.

Jasmine Patterson:

From what I knew, he wasn't even in the office. You know he wasn't there. And so another guy, another attorney, came in, was talking, and I'm just kind of just observing and I just feel like a presence like at the door. I didn't even want to turn around because I was kind of scared. I was just like what? And so I see the other attorney, the AUSA. He turns around, he's like oh hey, you know, or whatever you know, automatically, I'm just super nervous. I'm like sweating, my hands are sweating. I'm just like Jasmine, be normal, Say hi, no. So the AUSA in front of me, like he knows him, he's been working with him. So he fist pumps the US attorney and you know this is probably what they've been doing. They know each other, this is his boss. So I've met this man maybe twice prior to this and had very little conversation, and so as I'm walking out, I go ahead and fist pump him, like what's up?

Jasmine Patterson:

And so he fist pumps me and I swear in my peripheral I just see him like.

Jayne Dressing:

No, she didn't. Who is she? And so he fist pumps me and I swear like in my peripheral.

Eimee Donbar:

I just see him like no, she didn't.

Jayne Dressing:

Who was she Like okay.

Eimee Donbar:

Are we at this level? Dissipated quickly, you saw that yes.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was just like, okay, you are weird, jasson, why would you just do that? This is the US attorney you fist pump. You are not cool like that. Did that go on to the us attorney? You fist pump it, you are not cool like that.

Jayne Dressing:

Did that go on to the vision board? Think before you fist pump, like that was.

Jasmine Patterson:

That was on the poster board the next day bad because I didn't want him to think I just like didn't respect him. I was overthinking it. I was truly overthinking it, yeah, and like I have, he walked past one day. I was like I am so sorry for fist pumping you I did not.

Jasmine Patterson:

I, I respect not, I respect you. He was like you are fine, like it's not that. I was just like okay, jasmine, turn around and stop overthinking. He was, he's so nice. Like there's no reason for me to just like I was about to pass out. There's no reason for me to feel that way. Like it is a very important. You know, it's a law firm, so it's a very important space. Everybody's doing their job or whatever, but it's, it wasn't. It's not like what you think or what I thought. Now that I'm starting to get to know people and things like that, people are human.

Eimee Donbar:

Yeah, and you and you had, you made a connection with him Like I know that you didn't want to fist bump but you connected with him and he's like you're good, I'm going to start covering that in career exploration.

Jayne Dressing:

I know I think I'm going to. It's going to be a new. It's part of your 30 second elevators pitch.

Jasmine Patterson:

No honestly, because I couldn't believe I did that and my mom. I called my mom.

Jayne Dressing:

My name is Jasmine.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was like mom, I just fist pumped, but she was like you are getting too comfortable. Go to your desk and do your work. I love mama.

Eimee Donbar:

So I was just like yeah.

Jasmine Patterson:

But it was. I love it. It is like super family oriented there. They're so nice, there's no reason for me to be as uptight, but it's like Law Order.

Jayne Dressing:

I love this. Okay, she's now at Law Order.

Jasmine Patterson:

But this is also the best. I love this job. This is one of the best jobs I've had. Like I'm, I love it, I love it, love it, love it like I get to read tea all day.

Jayne Dressing:

Oh, she gets to read tea, and we are not talking about lipton listeners like it's so juicy, it's great like I love it.

Eimee Donbar:

Can we get the sponsor by hooters and lipt?

Jayne Dressing:

Yes, the tea, because we're spilling the tea here. We are spilling it every week. I love my job.

Jasmine Patterson:

I love it. I love the people I work with. It's so like everybody is in their own bubble, but everybody's doing their own work, and then when they can come out their offices and talk, they do. But it it's like you do your work and then it's playtime. But okay, at the same time I get to read tea all day all right.

Eimee Donbar:

So what are you?

Jasmine Patterson:

doing now you're working yeah, I'm still there.

Eimee Donbar:

I'm a paralegal specialist what do you do as a paralegal specialist?

Jayne Dressing:

uh, reads tea all day.

Jasmine Patterson:

I know I read all day, but to be specific, um I send out subpoenas, warrants or write up the subpoenas and the warrants for the attorneys, motions, plea agreements, and just tighten up everything and yeah, just filing and things like that.

Eimee Donbar:

You're also in law school right now.

Jasmine Patterson:

I start NKU. Chase in August.

Eimee Donbar:

Okay.

Jayne Dressing:

Yes, so last oh, spring, June, maybe June, I'm getting my car repaired and nobody loses my number. You know, everybody stays in touch with me. So I get this phone call and I and it's jasmine, and she was like I got into law school and I was like no way no way, because listen, if, if you would have seen this girl walk across the cincinnati state really stage, come on now six inch heels and fired.

Eimee Donbar:

I think she fist bumped everybody going across the stage yes, and it was loud, and you know the audience goes loud and they yell yeah and, uh, I love it.

Jayne Dressing:

And then she calls and says, hey, I'm in, I'm going to law school, and I was like, yeah, you are yeah, I feel like I just had to always circle back to tell Ms Dre like I did it.

Jasmine Patterson:

I did it.

Eimee Donbar:

Yeah, we tell people, jane and I do.

Jayne Dressing:

And it surprised me one bit.

Eimee Donbar:

No, hold on to your people. Students listening out there trying to get from point A to point B, except for Carly and Jason in the control room. Except for you two. No, hold on to your people, and you did, and you found these people and you hang on to them and they're your people. So excellent job and I love that you got to get that call Jane.

Jayne Dressing:

Yeah, it was great, I love it and shout out to Sue Burke too, so you got to let her know about this journey.

Jasmine Patterson:

She did her thing Like I had gotten pregnant. I you got to let her know about this journey. She did her thing Like I had got pregnant. I got pregnant the summer before my last year Of undergraduate. I feel like I had so many classes and I was just like I knew that I just didn't want to take. I wanted to graduate before I had Nova, which is my daughter, and I was like I can't take any classes after I have her Because I just know I'm not going to be focused.

Jasmine Patterson:

It's going to be hard to be a new mom it's a life changing yeah and so she, she even it was to the point sometimes we had to call Cincinnati State, make some connections, because there were certain classes I took here that, because they were named something different, we had to like kind of finesse it Like, yeah, this technically, this class counts towards this class over here. And she really helped me out to the point where I put a lot of stress on myself. But the last semester I took nine classes.

Eimee Donbar:

I did, I worked nine classes yes, you took 27 credit hours. Nine classes yes, you took 27 credit hours, nine classes.

Jasmine Patterson:

Yes, most of them were online but three of them were probably on campus Girl. Nine classes Worked and my 90-hour internship I had to complete while I was eight, nine months pregnant. Wow, so I was walking across, but I was so determined I was like I'm graduating.

Jayne Dressing:

I am not taking any more classes. Yeah, and I was walking across.

Jasmine Patterson:

But I was so determined I was like I'm graduating, I am not taking any more classes and I graduated with a 3.2.

Jayne Dressing:

Oh my gosh, yeah, fist bump. All right, we fist bump listeners.

Jamal Lundy:

These are the stories that we hear.

Jayne Dressing:

That resiliency, not giving up, persistent.

Jasmine Patterson:

I love this. I had to because I was not taking any classes with a newborn. I was not doing it.

Eimee Donbar:

No clearly not.

Jasmine Patterson:

Took two full-time schedules.

Jayne Dressing:

I was tired, I was tired and you graduate and it's kind of in the heart of COVID right.

Jasmine Patterson:

It was. It was the heart of COVID.

Jayne Dressing:

Yeah, and you did it and you got through it, and then I know you came back and walked across that stage. Oh yeah, I was going to walk across that stage.

Jasmine Patterson:

I was going to walk across that stage.

Jamal Lundy:

I wanted to walk across with my baby.

Jasmine Patterson:

but of course I was like Jasmine, don't do that, just let her see you. Of course, when I look over as I'm walking over, guess what she's doing? Sleep. You're supposed to see this moment Nova.

Eimee Donbar:

Welcome to motherhood. Yes, Like are you looking?

Jasmine Patterson:

No, no, she was knocked out. I was like this is for you.

Jayne Dressing:

Yeah, but no it was good. Yeah Well, you're changing lives every day your own life, your daughter's life? Hopefully there's some students listening out there who are at Cincinnati State dreaming of going to law school, dreaming of a career, and what advice would you give? What would you say to yourself as a 19-year-old? Knowing what you know now, because I love how you talk to yourself in the third person.

Jasmine Patterson:

I love that.

Jasmine Patterson:

It's going to sound so cliche, but I see why so many people say it, and it's. You have to actually believe in yourself. You have to write it down and you have to like, make a plan and you have to like, you have to study your plan. You can't have it. You're going to have a million distractions, but ultimately it's about you, it's for you. Get it done. It's your plan, your goals. Don't ignore the distractions, because they're there for a reason to prevent you from getting to your next milestone. So, of course, take it day by day, step by step, but it's better when you have it written down, have a plan and have a plan.

Jayne Dressing:

Yeah, that's a great. That's great advice, because plans can change. But if you have no plan, life will give you one, absolutely, and you have to write it down.

Jasmine Patterson:

It's nothing with having something written down and hey, if a plan doesn't work, there have a plan B and get back to the original plan. But believe in yourself. It's so cliche, but it's so true. You have to believe that you can do it, because if no one else believes in you, that's your power.

Jayne Dressing:

That's your power. Believe in yourself, Jasmine. Thank you so much for joining us here at Future Proof. We cannot wait to share your success and your updates with our listeners.

Eimee Donbar:

We're going to be needing a lawyer soon to represent us in the Hooters and the Lipton T lawsuit Just kidding, you know in.

Jayne Dressing:

August, when you're at Chase, we are your first clients.

Eimee Donbar:

Thank you. Thank you so much for being here today. Thanks for being here. Pleasure hearing your story, Jasmine.

Jamal Lundy:

Thanks for joining us on the Future Proof Podcast. The Future Proof Podcast is brought to you by Studio 459 up on the hill at Cincinnati State's main campus in Clifton. This podcast is produced in conjunction with the Cincinnati State Audio Video Production Program, its students and faculty Student producers are Jason Warner and Carly Baker. If you like what you heard here, please hit the subscribe button. If you're an employer or potential student interested in the programs Cincinnati State has to offer, please visit cincinnatistateedu.