BIO
Throughout her academic career, Jessica Wawra (Kesselring) has been drawn to the intersection of art and social justice. Her writing and research seeks to challenge social inequalities and oppressive power structures, and investigates human interactions in the public sphere. Wawra (Kesselring) began her undergraduate studies at Glendale Community College, where she was a music major and studied classical voice. She later transferred to San José State University, where she shifted her focus to an interdisciplinary humanities program, completing a major in the Creative Arts. In addition to fulfilling her major requirements, she completed Advanced Honors in Integrated Science, Social Science & the Humanities and graduated with magna cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi, and Presidential Scholar honors in 2017. Wawra (Kesselring) is in her second year at the California Institute of the Arts in the school of Critical Studies Aesthetics & Politics M.A. graduate program and is working toward a thesis project related to post-millennial phantasmagoric horror.
CV
Jessica Wawra (Kesselring)
EXPERIENCE
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — Teaching & Research Assistant
2018 - 2019
Assisted Dr. Andrew Culp and Dr. Chandra Khan with day-to-day administrative needs and research.
Source Insights, Los Angeles, CA — Board Member
2017 - PRESENT
Establish non-profit status; develop methods to provide Computer Programming Education to marginalized or underrepresented communities; create and promote web presence, revenue streams, usability, privacy, optimization, and accessibility of digital products and resources for underrepresented or marginalized communities.
San José-Okayama Sister Cities, San José, CA — Board Member
2016 - 2017
Coordinated 60th Anniversary celebration of the relationship between San José, California and Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan; established community partnerships for art events.
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Learning Center Certified Music Tutor
July 2013 - July 2014
Taught music fundamentals, ear training, musicianship, harmony, and piano to students enrolled in music courses.
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Substitute Section Leader
2010 - 2014
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Milton Young Choral Assistantship|Alto Section Leader|Treasurer
2007 - 2010
Assisted Music Department choral directors in an administrative capacity; managed choral library; facilitated sectionals and attendance of alto choristers; supervised choral section leaders; managed choral costume and music folder database; coordinated peripheral choral activities and annual ChoralFest logistics; served as point-of-contact for local high schools.
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Instructor’s Aide
2006 - 2010
Assisted a blind English 101 & 102 instructor (in-class and administrative); supervised peer group tutoring and work sessions; identified basic grammar, spelling, and structural issues in students’ written work ahead of telephone grading sessions; proctored in-class examinations; engaged alternative teaching methods for ESL-track students.
First Presbyterian Church, Monrovia, CA — Chorister & Substitute Section Leader
2005 - 2011
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Soloist & Chorister
2005 - 2014
Performed classical, contemporary, and holiday pieces for solo and ensemble voice; performed partial operatic roles 2011-2014.
Washington Mutual Bank, Northridge, CA — Project Coordinator & Senior Administrative Assistant
2002 - 2005
Provided administrative and project assistance to Washington Mutual Consumer Bank Operations project groups; managed and trained new hires and contingent staff; coordinated community volunteer engagement; organized personnel-related activities; managed inbound and outbound invoices.
Washington Mutual Bank, Northridge, CA — Processing Specialist & HR Strategic Staffing Specialist | iCard Project
2001 - 2002
Trained and supervised iCard project group and quality assurance project teams; conducted quality assurance and produced statistics during paper-to-electronic signature database migration; designed and implemented Committed Active Neighbor volunteer campaigns.
Washington Mutual Bank, Northridge, CA — Sr. Account Executive & Sr. Personal Financial Representative
1998 - 2001
Trained new hires and contingent staff; originated and processed consumer bank & lending products; provided Notary Public services; provided face-to-face and telephone customer service.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — M.A., Aesthetics & Politics
2018 - 2020 (Pending)
Thesis: Phantasmagoria Nova: Horror Cinema in the New Millennium (Working title)
San José State University, San José, California — B.A. Creative Arts
2015 - 2017
3.72/4.00 Cumulative GPA | Magna cum laude | President’s Scholar
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA — Applied Music Program
2010 - 2012
Beth Pflueger, Applied Music Department Chair | Dr. Jayne Campbell, Private Vocal Studio
Christensen Music & The Coaching Studio, Los Angeles, CA — Certification
2011
The Joy of Singing, Vocal Technique & Performance Workshop | Public Showcase
Washington Mutual Bank, Northridge, CA— Training & Certification
1998 - 2005
Corporate Project Methodology certification; Building the Total Team; Sales 101; Achieving Extraordinary Customer Relations (AECR Training); Consumer Products & Mortgage Lending certification
PROJECTS
Extensions of Horror — Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles Curatorial/Critical Studies Residency
Summer 2019
Created an exhibition that investigates the intersection between horror cinema and political upheaval in the new millennium.
Interior Scroll, integrated media re-performance — Creative Capstone Thesis, San José State University
2017
Engaged practice-based research and argued the necessity of feminist intersectional criticism in the gameverse to counter disproportionate masculinity, white privilege, and inherent physical & virtual violence; re-performed Carolee Schneemann’s Interior Scroll (1975).
Religion & AIDS in the American Social Sphere: Exploring Intersections & Inequities — Research in the Sciences, San José State University
2016
Identified the tactics of conservative-religious paradigms that affected and influenced American public policy surrounding the AIDS/HIV epidemic in the 1980s to the present.
No Vacancy — Producer
2015
Produced Campus MovieFest documentary that highlighted the effects of gentrification in Downtown San José, CA.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Glendale College Art Walk and Summer Music Festival — Producer
2010
Procured weekly talent and organized logistics for Glendale Community College-adjacent summer art and music festival.
David Michael Layne Choral Music Series — Session Singer
June 2007
AWARDS
Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles Summer Residency, 2019
Lillian Disney Scholarship California Institute of the Arts, 2018-2020
Teaching Assistantship California Institute of the Arts, 2018-2019
President’s Scholar San José State University, 2017
Magna cum laude Honors San José State University, 2017
Honors Convocation Featured Stories Recipient San José State University, 2017
Advanced Honors in Integrated Science, Social Science, and Humanities San José State University, 2015-2016
Campus Finalist, Elfenworks Campus MovieFest Social Justice Category Submission San José State University, 2015
Dean’s Honors Glendale Community College
Shirley Wagner Memorial Scholarship Glendale Community College
Deaf Education Scholarship Glendale Community College
Robert D. & Robert W. Butcher Scholarship Glendale Community College
Helen C. Nern Memorial Music Scholarship Glendale Community College
Milton Young Memorial Choral Assistantship Glendale Community College
Associate Students of Glendale Community College Scholarship Glendale Community College
Music Associated of California Community Colleges choral representative Glendale Community College, 2005-2012
Membership
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi San José State University, inducted 2016
Humanities Club San José State University, 2016-2017