Jessica Armstrong has always kept what’s important to her at the forefront of her mind: her people.
Whether it involved supporting colleagues in her role as a student worker on Georgia Southern University’s Liberty Campus in Hinesville, coaching her daughters in track or dance or supporting her peers in the military, Armstrong is passionate about helping those around her.
So it’s no surprise that Armstrong is positioning herself for a career as an attorney focusing on military law.
Born in Chicago, Armstrong’s connection to the military began with her father, an Army veteran who spent his military career handling ammunition. Her mother, an ordained minister, homeschooled her and her siblings as they traveled around the country.
After working in retail and telemarketing and attending community college in Illinois, she joined and served for several years in the Army, following in her father’s footsteps by handling ammunition.
Recently, she served as a legal runner and contract worker for the United States Army. In this role, she worked closely with army personnel and their records, where she oftentimes witnessed scenarios, often disciplinary, in which she wanted to help a soldier but couldn’t.
“It was frustrating because I wanted to be able to help a lot of the soldiers,” she said. “I wanted to help my friends, and I wanted them to know what their options were.”
She noted that a lot of people join the military at a young age, which can be a hard transition.
“At 18 or 19, you’re going to make mistakes,” she said. “Things are going to happen, and people need forgiveness.”
While there are ways in which soldiers can overcome mistakes, everything has a record that follows them for their career, she said.
“These are people who sign their life away for the country, and I just feel like they deserve every opportunity to redeem themselves,” Armstrong said. “That’s where I was like, I want to help, I want to be the person that they can come to to say, what can I do?”
As a Fall 2024 graduate from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences with a political science degree, minor in psychology and a new paralegal certification, Armstrong is looking forward to applying to law school to inch her closer to her career goals.
“I want to be the person they can come to and say, ‘What can I do?’” she said. “Then I can ask, ‘What can we put together to help your case? What state of mind are you in now, have you learned from your mistakes? Do we have things in place to help them once they’re done with things like deployment?”
In addition to her studies, Armstrong had an opportunity to grow her skills and work-study student at the Liberty Campus in Hinesville where she worked with Military and Veteran Services and students, faculty and staff.
“Everyone here is very welcoming and they make you feel good,” she said. “I was able to get administrative experience here on this campus and get to know a lot of the staff here. And I’ve gotten close with everyone. I’m actually really sad I have to leave.”
Though she may be sad to leave Eagle Nation, Armstrong looks forward to spending time with her daughters and returning to Chicago to be near family as she prepares to take the LSAT sometime in the spring.
