Born and raised in Oxford, Jessi is the youngest of two siblings in a close-knit family. She is especially close to her mother, whose support and faith in Jessi developed her daughter's self-assurance as a very young child. Her mother sought to provide as many opportunities for her personal and academic growth as possible under financial and other constraints.

As an elementary school student, Jessi was confident and motivated. She always put forth maximum effort, which showed in her grades. She developed her drive to succeed and her entrepreneurial skills as a member of Potential in Action, where she consistently outsold her troopmates during the organization's annual fundraising candy drive. Jessi increased sales by creating personalized candy gifts. She offered hand-delivery with the addition of a personal message in calligraphic lettering.

In high school, Jessi was voted most likely to kill with kindness. She was popular and sweet but driven and not to be underestimated. She was high-achieving through her determination and hard work.

During her senior year of high school, she was selected for a multi-school spring break trip to Africa to study animal care and conservation. One of the instructors had spent time in the Amazon rainforest. Once Jessi heard her stories about the destruction going on there, she decided that's where she wanted to work. She graduated from high school with a GPA of 3.8 and enrolled at Ole Miss as a biology major.

After graduation, Jessi plans to leave Oxford for the Amazon rainforest to work as a Conservation Biologist to stop industrial deforestation and to promote animal survival and recolonization.

Jessi is a big fan of the scientific method and is happy to contribute to the social experiment "Under Glass: The Study of Generation Z in the Real."