Jessalynn K. I. Graham
References
References & Recommendations
I have several recommendations on LinkedIn from my previous employers & leadership roles. Please email me and I will add you to my LinkedIn to verify that these recommendations below are valid. Five of my recommendations below are not on LinkedIn but are in the form of a recommendation letter/email, if you would like to verify these as well please email me through my contact page.
"After a friend recommended Jessalynn, I decided to try her for some of my design
& print needs.I couldn't have asked for more. Jessalynn is extremely professional, courteous, creative, organized, and always on schedule. I've been going back to Jessalynn for all my needs that she covers ever since, because I know I can count on her and her creativity, as well as trust that I'll receive nothing, but top-notch work from her."
— Former Employer | Feb 16, 2015
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"I am writing this recommendation for Jessalynn Graham, a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design. As President of Ringling College, I had the pleasure of working with Jessalynn when she was a student and the College and served as the Student Government Association President. As president of the student body, she did a fabulous job representing the students, communicating the students' needs and desires to me and the institution's administration and its Board of Trustees. Because of the mature and professional way in which she conducted herself, Jessalynn was always well respected by everyone with whom she worked. For me personally, it was a joy working with her. Jessalyn had a vision for where the Student Government organization needed to go and she really put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to see that vision become reality.
Jessalynn is a very strong leader and exhibited her leadership not only as Student Government leader but also as a student. She is always learning and always conveying her knowledge to others, leading by example. Jessalynn has a contagious personality and everyone at Ringling College found her enthusiasm and dedication both inspiring and motivating.
Jessalynn has a very strong work ethic and excels at problem-solving because she is able to approach issues creatively and analytically -- great combination of skills. In addition to her leadership and problem solving skills, Jessalynn is also an excellent designer.. I could always depend on her to set the best example as SGA President at Ringling College. Jessalynn was extremely enthusiastic about her work which was infectious. Give Jessalynn the really challenging tasks, the ones that everyone else is struggling with, and she will get them done. Jessalynn will find a way to weather any storm with a smile. She learns quickly and I would love to work with Jessalynn again in the future. On account of her mature approach to her responsibilities, I often thought of Jessalynn as more of a colleague. I could always rely upon Jessalyn to get the job done and done well."
— Larry R. Thompson, President | Ringling College of Art and Design
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"Jessalynn is a talented graphics designer and came up with some inventive designs when we launched our AlumNet campaigns. She enhanced the visual appeal and created some key marketing pieces for our alumni. She would make a good addition to any team and naturally rises to the occasion when presented with something she is passionate about."
— Former Employer | March 20, 2015
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" I highly recommend Jessalynn Graham as a professional and exceptional senior graphic designer. Jessalynn worked with me as the head designer for several events hosted by Deloitte in Los Angeles and several other cities throughout the United States featuring the documentary film "Miss Representation." She designed all campaign marketing materials and was extremely flexible with her schedule so she could meet our sometimes last minute deadlines. With outstanding time management skills, she made sure to always deliver her work results in a timely fashion.
Jessalynn takes initiative to go beyond the expectations of her job duties and has such a welcoming and bubbly personality followed by an enthusiastic and infectious smile. Jessalynn has the invaluable ability to think outside the box – she often comes up with fresh design ideas. She approaches design problems from different angles and often comes up with unforeseen creative solutions as well.
While working on the Miss Representation events, Jessalynn was never afraid to question a typical design solution when she saw potential for a quicker, cheaper and more practical design approach. One of Jessalynn's most outstanding qualities is her incredible ability to break even the most complex design problems down to the core issues, and then finding smart, simple and elegant design solutions. Jessalynn is a hard-working and energetic person, and I have no doubt that she will experience great success in her future career."
— Former Employer | March 29, 2015
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"I’ve had the great opportunity to work with Jessalynn Graham while she was a Senior Creative Services Designer at Deloitte. Jessalynn was the make or break player orchestrating the Electronic Arts webcast we did with Bersin by Deloitte. Stunning visual presentation!
Jessalynn’s attention to detail and creative concepts sparked curiosity and discussion with our viewers. Jessalynn was very professional and flexible with her work hours to accommodate our schedules as well.
Jessalynn will be an asset on any design team and I look forward to working with her again."
— Former Employer | February 26, 2015
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"Dedicated. Focused. Innovative. Driven. Ms. Graham is an exceptional employee. Her creative mind is exemplary when partaking challenging projects and discovering solutions. She is a strong ethical leader that leads by example. I highly recommend, Ms. Graham."
— Ringling College of Art + Design Student Life Staff
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"Jessalynn was the President of SGA while I served as VP in my senior year at Ringling. Thoughtful, driven, and smart as a whip, she lead our group to be one of the most successful SGA runs in the history of Student Government leadership at Ringling. Jessalynn has a great way of pushing folks to do their best and give their all without anyone feeling like they were being railroaded. She's an empowering leader, and I wouldn't hesitate to work under her again."
— Ringling College of Art + Design | Student Government Vice President 2007
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"Jessalynn was my very first R.A. at Ringling and I have to admit that I haven't had another R.A. as attentive and responsible as she was. I not-so-secretly compared my latter ones to her example and it was a tough act to follow. Jessalynn would consistently check in with the residents and actually truly did have an open door policy. I never felt awkward or intimidated asking for advice or help and was very motivated by her passion for change and improvement. She was the one who inspired me to join Ringling's Student Government Association and the idea that if you want to see something fixed on campus, make an effort to be that person to make that difference. I definitely highly recommend Jessalynn for everything she puts her mind to because she most certainly has the capabilities to achieve greatness!"
— Ringling College of Art + Design | Resident from my all female dorm
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"Jessalynn is a hard working and very efficient task manager. As a resident assistant for me she was always willing to go the extra mile, and was able to build a rapport and connection with almost anyone. She was seen as someone who you could go to when a situation arose, and who you knew would get the job efficiently, effectively, and to the highest degree."
— Ringling College of Art + Design | Director of Resident Life
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"It’s rare that you come across standout talent like Jessalynn. Jessalynn expertly mentored me for my internship and job interview preparation throughout
my college career at Ringling College of Art and Design. I was particularly impressed by Jessalynn’s ability to handle a demanding school academic schedule, responsibilities and involvement in multiple college clubs, lead student government as Ringling College of Art and Design class President, and make time to mentor and advise students with their job interview prep—and effortlessly. That skill often takes years to develop, but it seemed to come perfectly naturally to her.
I consider Jessalynn to be a valuable mentor, leader with astounding integrity and a caring friend. She is hard-working, honest, peace- loving, courteous, and one of the first to step up to help friends, fellow classmates, and co-workers as much as possible.
As a team member or a leader, Jessalynn earns my highest recommendation"
— Ringling College of Art + Design | Student I mentored under Student Ambassador
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"I had the privilege of working with Jessalynn for over six years as a volunteer in many capacities. She started volunteering before she was even enrolled. She was exceptionally professional in all roles and approached volunteering with an energy that motivated others to participate and a passion for utilizing her creativity to make positive change.
As a student ambassador I could always count on Jessalynn to represent the Ringling College community. She was very approachable and worked well with all stakeholders and constituents. Beyond the Ambassador role, she was engaged through out campus as the SGA president for 2 consecutive years, an Resident Assistant, a student worker and involved in many campus clubs and organizations.
Jessalynn consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic at Ringling College and a dedication to success. I highly recommend Jessalynn for her leadership and project management skills and her reliability."
— Ringling College of Art + Design | Director of Student Volunteerism
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"I had the pleasure of getting to know Jessalynn Graham when she was a creative intern at Razorfish. During her time at Razorfish, she made many contributions to the company brand through her client experiences, such as doing creative work for the JCPenney and Kraft accounts, and performing editing for the Capri Sun website. Jessalynn impressed me very much with her creativity, spirit, and personal integrity."
— Former Internship | Coworker from Razorfish Internship
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"Jessalynn is hardworking, intelligent, creative, and a proactive problem-solver. She designed corporate marketing materials for three Bio-Pro Research Company brands. She is a true team player and always brings a positive attitude to work, energizing those around her."
— Former Internship | Marketing Manager during my internship.
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"Jessalynn has been my inspiration for many years on a personal level. As her past Girl Scout leader I could see so much potential in this young lady and to see how she has grown into the successful business woman I always knew she would, just excites me. Her personality just bubbles from within her, and that alone will bring you much success and happiness. Jessalynn was never a follower but always a leader. She took on task that no others would do and I could always count on her to follow through and do it right!
Jessalynn's faith in God keeps her grounded. She received her gifts from him, and she makes him proud."
— Former Girl Scout Design Internship | High School Girl Scout Troop Leader
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"Over the past two months, Jessalynn has supported the ___classified____ Service Line in conducting a ‘graphics refresh’ to its go-to market solution offerings. Jessalynn was given graphics anywhere from 1-5 years old with no consistency in layout, design, color, font, etc. Through multiple collaborative sessions with myself and other ___classified____ leaders, Jessalynn took 10 graphics and conducted a complete re-design to provide a consistent and fresh look/feel to ___classified___ marketing collateral. The graphics will be used in the FY15 ___classified___ Solution Offering Handbook, ___classified___ call plans, placemats, etc that are used as internal marketing material within the firm as well as external collateral for new and prospective clients."
— Former Client | November 10, 2014
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"In late-July/ early-August, my team and I turned to Jessalynn Graham in a last-minute effort to produce graphics in support of a client deliverable (brief) at the end of a contract period of performance. Jessalynn was able to squeeze our project into her calendar and worked with me and my team to develop a 60+ page brief which required graphical themes throughout the deck. Jessalynn created graphical icons to tie in different phases of client delivery and provided a consistent color and labeling scheme to the brief. She also recreated the client’s difficult to follow organization structure. The brief was delivered on time and within the contract period of performance with Jessalynn’s help. The brief has since been reviewed by the Executive Director of the Space and Warfare Naval System Command and is being used as the ‘template’ for all Portfolios in the Command."
— Former Client | July & August 2014
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"I have worked with Jessalynn over the past two years for graphics assistance with client projects and internal Deloitte marking activities and wanted to take a few minutes to recognize her work. She is always my ‘go-to artist’ and her work is frequently applauded by clients and project PPDs (Principals, Partners & Directors). While this praise may be directed at me for ‘really bringing a conceptual vision into concrete graphical representation’ , I wanted to let you know that this recognition would not come without the design rigor and countless hours Jessalynn puts into her work product. She is always diligent, offers fabulous customer service inside and outside her schedule work hours, and knows how to ask the right questions to take a verbal concept (or elementary graphic) and turn it into a work of art."
— Former Client & Employer | November 10, 2014
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"To Whom it May Concern:
A few months ago, Jessalynn Graham worked on a project for me, refining a Bersin member’s presentation (New York Life) for a webcast I was co-presenting with the member. In short, the member submitted to me a presentation that did not meet our standards for quality of a Bersin webcast, and the member lacked the resources to make it better.
Jessalynn and I collaborated on this project. I shared with her examples of what I hoped the presentation would look like and explained the vision for the different slides. After that point, Jessalynn really took initiative and drove the project forward. She made suggestions on graphics and approaches, developed a theme for the entire presentation, and developed thoughtful visual interpretations of the information on the slides. She even worked with the other designers to find adequate points to purchase images as necessary! Jessalynn kept me informed throughout the project and made sure that I got her feedback when she needed it (not always easy, given the hectic Bersin life). Jessalynn put in a truly tremendous amount of work on the project and her pride in the final project was evident.
The end product was truly stellar. In fact, one of our other members emailed the gentleman from New York Life, asking for the slides. To quote him directly (see attached email), he stated, “In particular, I thought the graphics and visuals you
used in your slides to deliver the messages were outstanding, as good as I have seen anywhere.” I could not agree more."
— Former Client & Employer | January 22, 2014
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"I worked with Jessalynn at Deloitte and her energy and enthusiasm for projects was infectious! She always went above and beyond, and no request was ever too big or small. A talented and creative designer, Jessalynn was the 'go-to person' when personalized cards or banners were needed for departmental social activities and celebrations. She is also generous with her time and talent; the ladies in the office--myself included--have beautiful, one-of-a-kind Jessalynn Graham jewelry pieces that she made for us as holiday gifts. You will not find a more dedicated, hardworking, talented, cheerful, and friendly designer!"
— Former Colleague | May 2015
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Jessalynn Graham exemplifies active engagement in Student Life in a socially responsible way. She serves as an outstanding student leader and role model through involvement as founding leader and president of the Student Government Association. She is also a third-year Resident Assistant, a Student Ambassador, and has been active in such groups and activities as FOCAS (Fellowship of Christian Artists), AIGA, the Hip-Hop Club, and martial arts. Jessalynn is truly committed to making Ringling College an even better place through student-led initiatives and ideas related to campus life. She definitely models the way on leadership and involvement for all students!
— Former Dean of Students | Ringling College of Art and Design
Gallup Clifton Strengthfinder
Despite its name, the Gallup endorsed Clifton Strengths Finder assessment doesn’t reveal your strengths but instead your most dominant underlying talents. Your top 10 ‘Dominant Signature Themes’ as they are called, are “the ways in which you most naturally think, feel, and behave”.
The strengths movement is
built upon the idea that you can become who you want to be – if it’s more of who you already are. You can’t and should not aim to become someone different.
Each person has huge potentials – but in specific areas. Your biggest room for growth and success lies within your talents.
Below I have listed my top 10 results, as they mark the path to my personal excellence according to Gallup's Clifton Stregnthfinders Assesment. I have posted a video to explain each strength finder as well as a short definition and pdf link that you can open that will explain the strength finder in more detail.
1. Achiever:
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive.
2. Arranger:
People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.
3. Strategic:
People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
4. Responsibility:
People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
5. Developer:
People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.
6. Focus:
People who are especially talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.
7. Consistency:
People who are especially talented in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.
8. Positivity:
People who are especially talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
9. Communication:
People with Communication talents like to explain, describe, host, present, and write. Their natural talents enable them to bring ideas and events vividly to life. They turn thoughts and actions into visual stories, images, examples, and metaphors. They want their information — whether an idea, an event, a discovery, or a lesson — to captivate the audience.
10. Ideation:
People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
2010 - present
2010 - present