Catching Up with Jess Hall '22

Jess Hall graduated from Miller School in 2022. She is currently a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is pursuing a degree in Strategic Communications. She credits her experiences at MSA for her current success in college and her path to finding a career path that is fueled by her passions and interests.

Tell us about your path to Miller School and becoming a Maverick.

I grew up in Goochland County, Virginia, and always had a love for the outdoors. Throughout middle and high school, I tried every sport you could think of. I really caught on to tennis, dance, and field hockey, but I never had a love for any of them. In 7th grade, I tried mountain biking through a club at my school and found my love. I finally had a sport that I was ecstatic to train for and work towards. Then I started racing, and if you’re a kid in Virginia who races mountain bikes, you know the Miller School. It’s impossible not to. The endurance team has a kid on the podium of virtually every mountain or road bike race in the state of Virginia. I had been at the same school since kindergarten, and by 9th grade, I decided to make the leap and apply to go to Miller. It was honestly one of the proudest days of my life when I got in, and I’ll never forget opening the package with my first Miller School Endurance Team jersey inside of it. That day really changed my life looking back.

You are currently pursuing a degree in Strategic Communications & Public Relations with an emphasis on Sports Business. What inspired you to pursue this degree?

I actually came into Colorado as an Atmospheric and Oceanic Science major, hoping to pursue my love for marine science and weather, but quickly found out it wasn’t the field for me. My parents urged me to try and find a major that tailored more to my natural abilities, and I’ve always loved storytelling, writing, and communicating with others. While at Miller, I took a love to sports management, and seeing all of the work that went into organizing these nationally renowned sports programs in Cycling, Baseball, and Basketball, I decided to go full force into studying sports business.

While at the University of Colorado you have worked for Red Bull’s marketing department. That’s cool! Red Bull is known for being a frontrunner in all things related to building brands and innovative ways of communicating its value to customers. Tell us about your experience.

I’m super work motivated, not so much school, honestly. In my first semester at Boulder, while trying to find my way in life and in my degree, I googled “coolest student jobs to have,” and the Red Bull Student Marketeer position came up. I made my first ever resume on a free app in my dorm room bed, applied on a whim, and after a couple rounds of interviews, I got the job! It’s been the most incredible experience. The people I work with are amazing, the events I get to work—like Red Bull Rampage and X Games—are incredible. I’ve really had the best time and am no stranger to knowing how lucky I am to have this position that so many college kids nationwide dream of having. It also teaches you very quickly how to compose yourself at work. Everyone knows Red Bull, and people are usually super excited to see the Mini Cooper come to their event. You always gotta have your best foot forward.

In addition to this work, you have also been a leader in the Jewish community on campus. Tell us about this.

It’s a pretty crazy story, actually! My mom’s side of the family is Jewish, and I grew up in a mixed-faith household, but neither of my parents are super religious themselves. I went to church with my dad’s family on Easter, celebrated the Jewish high holidays with my mom’s family, but I personally never took to one or the other. When I went to college, my mom really wanted me to find a school with a strong Jewish community, and we really saw that when touring Colorado. Once I got to school, I decided to go to a Shabbat dinner for the first time in my life, and I met the girls who are now some of my best friends. I immediately felt welcome regardless of my background, met other kids from mixed-faith families, and was immediately welcomed into a community I had felt separated from for my whole life. I’ve always been someone who leans into community, and so that’s what I did! I’ve become a student leader in our Hillel across multiple councils, picked up a Jewish Studies minor to help me gain that Jewish education I opted out of as a kid, and am now the President of the Jewish Studies Advisory Board, working to connect the Jewish Studies faculty with the student body—really promoting that you don’t have to be the most religious person to want to learn more about religion. Boulder has been the first place I’ve felt truly connected to my Jewish religion, and I’m so lucky to be able to bring that newfound love home to my family and friends back in Virginia.

Of all the adults (teachers, administrators, staff members) with whom you came into contact at Miller School, who are some of your most memorable or most influential and why?

Oh wow, it’s simply impossible for me to name all of the people who shaped me into who I am, but the staff of Miller definitely changed my life. However, there are definitely some standouts.

Hattie Francis – Anyone who was at Miller with me knows that name and can hear her voice still in their head. Hattie taught me to stand up for myself, to use my voice, and to put myself first. When I came to Miller, I was friendly, but I’d consider myself much more timid then than I am now. You HAD to be loud in order to compete with Hattie, and after a long turn of events that landed me in her advisory, I finally found my voice and my drive that I still have today.

Chris Celella – Growing up I had a love for the guitar and singing, but you would never catch me playing for even my parents. I had stage fright to the MAX. Mr. C’s music class teaches kids that it doesn't matter who you are—a basketball player, a delinquent, someone who’s never picked up an instrument, someone who LOVES an instrument—music and performance is for everyone. Mr. C instilled my love of music in me and by the time I reached my senior year, I was performing in Spring Honors, writing music, and singing with my best friends in the chapel. I will forever be grateful for the confidence Mr. C helped me find.

The staff of the Endurance Team – Andy Guptil, Justin Bowes, and Peter Hufnagel – These coaches never cared who you were; everyone was on a level playing field in the endurance room. When I came to Miller, I was probably one of the least experienced kids on the team, which isn’t a hard title to have based on the amount of talent Miller draws. Despite that, I was always treated with respect and was constantly told I could be whatever I wanted when I was on a bike, as long as I had the drive and desire to work. I was invited to early morning workouts, rode a road bike for the first time, and traveled across the country racing at the national level with kids who were in national championship jerseys. These coaches instilled in me that I can do absolutely anything I put my mind to.

As you progressed through the grades at Miller School, did you find yourself preferring some academic disciplines over others? If so, which ones and why?

Yes, absolutely. Back to my switch from Atmospheric Science to Strategic Communications at Boulder, there was definitely always a side of academics that I was naturally better at. While at Miller, I completed a Major in Humanities, really committing to my love for writing and arts. I thrived in the music room, excelled in my AP Lit and Lang classes, and was endlessly supported by the teachers who brought me from a B/C student to one that was passing APs with flying colors.

Outside of the classroom at Miller School, which experiences or events did you find to be the most important in preparing you for CU?

Everything, honestly. From getting to meet kids from across the world and learn about their homes and cultures, announcing at VAHS and NICA races, to serving on the Honor Council, to having to communicate with teachers when I would be gone racing—there was no shortage of opportunities that I was granted just by being at Miller that prepared me for going to CU. There was definitely a big switch from our small family-style community in Crozet to the behemoth of a school that is Boulder, but I think the people skills that Miller imparted on me set me up for true success.

What do you primarily remember about your very first visit to the campus at Miller School?

I think everyone remembers their first time seeing Old Main. What a spectacular sight. Honestly, my first time at Miller was to race my mountain bike, and so I have to admit that I don’t have the fondest memories of seeing the massive gravel hill that everyone starts the race on, but the campus is just spectacular. World-class trails right beside the classroom, big rolling hills, and views of the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains—it was a side of Virginia I had never gotten to experience living in Richmond.

As you look back at your years on the Hill, what three adjectives best describe your view of the Miller School community?

Support, Community, Fun.

I truly have the fondest memories of Miller, and there was never a time from my first day enrolled as a student that I didn’t think it was the place for me. Miller changed my life, and it's really thanks to the people who made the place.

Did Miller School’s “mind, hands, and heart” approach to secondary school education play a fundamental role in shaping the person you are today? If so, how?

Absolutely. It's so cool to tell people—both from Richmond and in Boulder—about my unique high school experience. Trail maintenance class, nighttime study halls, the farm—it’s really an experience that no one else can compare to when talking about their high school.