Welcoming Patrick to Trojan Nation
With the start of a new school year comes many new things for students such as, new classes, new friends, and new teachers. Not only are students facing first this year, in fact West high is welcoming many new teachers. One of these new educators is Mrs. Jessica Patrick.
Patrick has stuck to seventh and eighth grade math classes, spending nine years at Johns Creek Elementary K-8 school in Pikeville, Kentucky and three years at Lincoln Heights Middle School. She will be teaching Business courses, previously taught by Mrs. Kimberly Cook. This is not her first time teaching a business course. She spent some time as a student teacher at Valley High School in Pikeville, KY teaching Computer Applications
When getting to know more about Patrick’s one comes to find she loves spending time with her family and her dog. In 2011 her son Kyland was born. Three years later she met a coal miner named Ralph and they married in October of 2018, She gained two sons from this marriage, Matt and Brayden. Not only did she gain two sons, but she also gained a granddaughter Emma who is one years old. In her free-time she loves to ride her Harley. Patrick was raised in a very small town in eastern Kentucky, where most of her family still lives. She attended Pikeville College and was the fist in her family to graduate from college. She graduated with a BBA in 2002. “I worked in the financial industry after college, first at Morgan Stanley where I obtained my Series 7 to be a financial advisor. I decided that life wasn't for me, so I went back to college and obtained my Masters in Education from Morehead State University in 2006.” Even though she wanted to be a business teacher, jobs were scarce in her hometown due to its small population.
Patrick expresses her spark in teaching, “The students. I love teaching students, and I hope I can be an inspiration to all of them as my high school business teacher was to me” The teacher she is referring to is her high school business teacher Mrs. Casey. “ My goal was to be a business teacher just like my favorite high school teacher, Mrs. Casey.” Patrick's plans to co-sponsor FBLA this year. She actually was a member of FBLA in high school as well as Phi Beta Lambda in College.
West High is proud to welcome Patrick with open arms and can not wait to see her career flourish as long as she continues to stay at West. “I am so thankful for my past three years as a Patriot and all that my Patriot family did for me in order to lead me to West High. My heart is overjoyed to get to teach some of my former middle school kiddos again. I taught some of the current Trojans in both 7th and 8th grade. The Patriots were my family as I had left most of mine hours away. I could almost cry tears of joy just being here as I am finally reaching my career goals. I am so happy to start a new chapter of life as part of the Trojan Nation,” From the way Patricks talks, it seems as though West has a keeper on our hands.