Alumni Profile: Jessie Owensby '01

Jessie Owensby '01 has been keeping busy since her time at Rabun Gap. Following her high school graduation, Jessie went to Tennessee to begin her college career. Circumstances brought her back to Georgia where she worked at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center for 10 years. In 2013, she went back to college and graduated from Piedmont University with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications two years later. Jessie is now the Director of Community Development and oversees the Economic Development Department, City Planning Department, Zoning Administration, communications, marketing, and tourism for the City of Cornelia. She now holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and recently started a consulting firm to help other communities plan their work. Jessie is happily married to her husband Mike (who she began dating in her junior year at Rabun Gap) and they have two children, Jake and Savana.

Tell us what you have been doing since graduating from Rabun Gap?

When I left Rabun Gap, I moved to Tennessee to go to college. After three years in Nashville, my boyfriend Mike’s (now husband) mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, so we moved home to take care of her. Once she passed, we went to work! I worked for ten years at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. In 2013, I attended Piedmont University and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications. I then went to work with the City of Cornelia in downtown development. I am now the Director of Community Development overseeing the Economic Development Department, City Planning Department, and Zoning Administration. I also oversee communications, marketing, and tourism. I have also obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration and I just started my own consultant firm to help other communities plan their work! I married that boyfriend I started dating junior year at Rabun Gap! We have two kids, Jake is 16 and Savana is 12. They attend Tallulah Falls School (please don’t call me a traitor)! Jake plays tennis, sings in chorus, is an honor student, and is a world-champion BBQ Pitmaster! Savana is also an honor student, plays tennis, soccer, and is on the cheerleading squad! Mike is a science teacher in Habersham County and was Head Golf Coach for four years.

What is something interesting about you that we wouldn't find on your resume?

Something interesting about me is that I am not an interesting person. I love a routine. I am a planner (it’s in the job title even), and I want to live in the woods. (Woody Malot’s fault)

How did Rabun Gap help to prepare you or influence your future goals?

Rabun Gap helped prepare me for the future because I like to consider myself a good multitasker. I am able to wear many hats and juggle my career, family, and we even make time for dates and friends! Because of the rigorous coursework at Rabun Gap, the tight schedule, and the many responsibilities we had with work, sports, and clubs, I was able to learn time management and organizational (OCD) skills that I know I may not have learned somewhere else. Learning to use my time wisely and be as productive and efficient as possible has helped me achieve more in life than I thought I was capable of. 

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Rabun Gap?

I have a million favorite memories. I remember how Raketa went swimming in the Natatorium every single day they would let her. I made her love country music. BoAnn and I spent a ton of time together. I remember the underground newspaper (anyone between the class of ’98 and the class of ’01 would know what that was). We spent our afternoons on the front hill or in the Student Center. I will NEVER forget my intersessions. I believe hiking the AT and having to be rescued from hypothermia was something I will never forget. Gap Singers used to tour the state and we traveled all over. Josh Holtzclaw, Amanda McCray, and Pamela Sierra were my travel buddies. We have great memories of John Barnes and Savannah. I could go on and on, but we would be here forever. I treasure my Rabun Gap memories and the friendships I made and still have.

Is there a specific faculty member, dorm parent, or coach who had a particularly important impact on you?

Lord yes! Aunt Connie and Ms. Pat basically raised me. They were my parents and they treated me as their daughter. They taught me life skills and I am forever grateful to them. Mike Cook and Connie Walton were the ones who supported me throughout my days. Mrs. Walton made learning history fun and was an amazing cook who showed me how to be fancy. Mr. Cook is my spirit animal. His positivity was contagious. He is the reason I went into communications. He wasn’t just my English teacher. He was my Newspaper Advisor, my Yearbook Advisor, and my singing companion. There are recordings floating around somewhere of the two of making music together. There are infinitely more influential people from Rabun Gap, but again, I don’t think there’s enough time or space to tell about it.

What advice do you have for current Rabun Gap students that you wish someone had told you during your time at school?

Enjoy your time at Rabun Gap. It is a very special place. There is nowhere else in the world like it. Even the bad days at Rabun Gap are good. Everything that happens in your life has a reason. There is a lesson to be learned from it or a different direction God wants you to go. Learn the lesson and apply it to your future. I promise that God has a plan for it. Speaking of planning, I had a college professor who started all his classes with a motto stating, “Plan your work. Work your plan.” That has been one of the most influential things I’ve ever heard, and I’m now a city planner because of it. You can’t go wrong with a good plan!

What would you like to see happen at Rabun Gap in the next 10 years?

I would like to see the preservation of the three pillars, both figuratively and literally. They are vital to the success of each student. “Work, Study, Worship” is something I still live by and would love to see that motto continue. I would also like for the class of 2001 to ACTUALLY hold a class reunion! We haven’t had a ten-year OR a twenty-year and I want to see people!