From MontCo to the Workforce to Peirce – Meet Jesse Alexander

For some high school students, continuing right on to college after graduation isn’t necessarily the “next step” as it may be for others. Their next step could be work, family, the military or many other things that take priority over a college education at the time. This was the case for Peirce College student Jesse Alexander, who spent three years working after high school graduation before he enrolled as a Liberal Arts major at one of Peirce’s Community College partner schools, Montgomery County Community College.

Jesse chose Montgomery County Community College because as he says, “It just made the most sense.” It was close to his home, he had heard good stories, and the cost-per-credit made it very affordable. “I loved my time at MontCo,” Jesse said. “Every professor I had in class was knowledgeable and truly cared about the success of their students. It ended up being a great fit.”

After Jesse earned his associate degree, he immediately went back to the workforce and served as a Department Manager at Giant for eight years. Realizing that he didn’t want to stay at Giant forever, he decided that the best way to put himself in a good position for a new career would be to earn a bachelor’s degree. The deciding factor came when he found out he would soon be a father, which was the final push Jesse needed to enroll at Peirce College in 2016.

Jesse decided to major in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. He had always taken an interest in financial markets, day-to-day operations at companies, and supply chain management, so it was a logical choice for him to work towards a degree that would leave him an expert in those topics. Currently working full-time as a cook at a restaurant in Bucks County, Jesse hopes to become a product manager or operational coordinator after he graduates in June of 2019.

Jesse attends nearly all of his classes online, but says he still feels like he’s a part of the Peirce College community. “I can still interact with classmates, communicate with instructors and do anything a student that attends class on campus can do. I owe the fact that I’ll soon have a bachelor’s degree to the flexibility that Peirce provides.” Currently holding a 3.78 GPA, Jesse is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society, and clearly an exemplary student!

Though he works full-time in addition to attending class as a full-time student, Jesse still tries to find some free time to play video games, and, as he puts it, “contemplate the mysteries of the universe.”

Peirce College commends Montgomery County Community College for providing Jesse with a solid educational foundation, and wishes him luck in all of his future endeavors!

If you or someone you know is looking to transfer to Peirce College, please contact me, Tom Tschop, Director, Strategic Partnerships & Institutional Enrollment, at 215.670.9203 or ttschop@peirce.edu.