Cowden brings experience to the classroom
Jessica Cowden engages students during a lecture.
Kaylee Pratt/Castleton Spartan
Each year, Castleton State College warmly welcomes hundreds of new faces to its family-like campus. Among these new faces this semester is public relations professor Jessica Cowden.
Since day one, Cowden has been winning over students with her upbeat positive attitude. Students say she shows respect for them and gives them confidence.
Cowden pushes each student to put forth their best work possible, while being willing to help work with them to accomplish that. She said she believes in a “stern, but friendly relationship with students.”
She also doesn’t look at homework as a punishment, but as projects that help the student develop skills in the area she is teaching.
“I don’t think it should be teacher versus student. It’s us collaborating together,” Cowden said.
Students in the class talk about how nice and approachable Cowden is, saying she always is telling people to email her and she’ll make time to meet them outside of class.
“She’s super helpful in class and makes sure you actually understand what is going on, unlike other professors,” said sophomore Jadie Dow.
After doing graphic design for many years in Colorado, Cowden moved to New York City where she earned her Certificate in Web Design from Nobel Desktop. She took classes at Full Sail University, where she earned her MFA in Media Design, all while maintaining her own freelance work involving promotion of bands and small businesses from all around the world.
It has been a little over a year since she moved to Castleton with her two kids and husband, Rich Cowden, director of the Fine Arts Center. She said both are very happy to be living in such a welcoming community.
Jessica Cowden said she wears a million different hats a day. She has to take care of her freelance work, class work and her family. She said she loves her life and career, but stressed that what’s most important to her is her family.
“The job she really loves the most is being a mom,” Rich Cowden said. “She makes me want to get up in the morning.”
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