Meet ScholarMatch alum Jessica Cheung: A San Francisco native, a child of immigrants and first-generation college graduate, and a self-proclaimed lover of books, pop culture, and large life themes.

Naturally, Jessica’s interests informed her passion for journalism and public radio: in college, she served as an editor for her college newspaper, hosted a news podcast at her school’s radio station, and eventually graduated college with an internship at NPR!

Since graduating from Middlebury College in 2015, Jessica has worked at NPR’s All Things Considered and later joined The Daily, a daily news podcast and radio show by the New York Times and hosted by Michael Barbaro.

We had the opportunity to connect with Jessica to learn more about her experience living out her dreams in the podcast world, and how ScholarMatch helped her launch into her career!

Hey Jessica! We heard you’re working at a pretty sweet job. Can you tell us about it?

“I’m an associate producer for The Daily podcast. At the moment, I’m working on an episode about R. Kelly, the R&B singer who is currently charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse. The story is told through the eyes of the Chicago prosecutor who is bringing those charges. During R. Kelly’s first trial in 2008, she would watch R. Kelly’s prosecution in the courtroom and then go home to family BBQs where people would defend him as a hometown hero, oscillating between two worlds.”

(You can listen to The Daily episode that Jessica mentions above here)

What does a typical day at your job look like?

“The day might begin at the Page One meeting, where all the desk editors gather to report to the masthead editors, what the news of the day looks like and what stories reporters are pursuing. I’d take notes on it and report back to The Daily team meeting. We’ll use that to decide on what the next day’s show is. Once we decide, we’ll call up the reporters and then script the conversation with a narrative structure in mind. We’ll usually tape around late afternoon, before I’ll start cutting the tape, gathering archival tape, building scenes, scoring, etc.”

What would you say is the best thing about working at The Daily?

“I love talking to my colleagues and reporters about stories and getting to a point in the conversation where an idea just sends a ringer to the bell — it’s an idea we usually want to end the episode on. What lesson does this story teach us? What moral question does it raise?

I also particularly love developing and using this skill that I feel is so unique to people I work with — which is to read an article or listen to a reporter talk and then, storyboard in our minds a narrative structure, as quickly as we’re gathering the information. To organize information into a narrative while simultaneously listening to someone talk has changed the way I listen to people altogether.”

When you were in college, you ended up transferring schools. What role did ScholarMatch play in supporting you through that transition?

“I remember coming into the ScholarMatch office during a summer break. I had just come back from a year at Fordham University, deeply unhappy with the school and panicked about the debt I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. I wanted to transfer schools, but knowing my mediocre SAT scores and grades from high school, I also felt like there was nowhere else for me to go.

But the folks at ScholarMatch sat me down and ran through my options. I remember the staff laying down a Middlebury College pamphlet in front of me. I remember my ScholarMatch mentor Diana Kapp, who has been the biggest advocate in my life, setting up coffee dates with alumni.

This was all happening during a time when I had very little confidence that I was destined for anything great, but the people at ScholarMatch managed to make me feel like I had every door open to me. ScholarMatch changed my life, no question.”

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You can read more about Jessica’s transition from Fordham University to Middlebury College and the support she received from ScholarMatch in this Fast Company article from 2015.

ScholarMatch is a non-profit education organization based in San Francisco, whose mission is to make college possible for underserved students. Their 7 year program supports students from low-income backgrounds get to and through college and into a meaningful career.

Learn more about ScholarMatch and how you can support their mission to make college possible at scholarmatch.org/get-involved.

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