Autobiographical Sketch

Jenna Mixer, Spring 2017

Although I havent really lived for very long, I feel that I have experienced quite a bit. I

was born on May 10, 1986 which was the day before Mothers Day that year In Green Bay,

Wisconsin. My family was featured on the news as my father worked for the local broadcast

station and I was one of the last babies to be born just before the holiday. My fathers first words

to me were lyrics to a song (which is so typical if you knew him) and I quickly outgrew the small

newborn outfits. I was raised in Green Bay where my mother was a teacher and father

continued to work in broadcast television. We built our first home when I was three and I have

vivid memories of that process.

My mother had summers off from teaching and our family started a tradition of piling into

our old Mercury and drive across the country. Our first trip was out west (concluding in Arches

National Park) with stops at Mount Rushmore, Black Hills, and concluding in Arches National

Park. We traveled south to the Grand Canyon and saw the Rocky Mountains. We would

complete this journey annually through my teenage years. I was raised to be a hiker and a

camper and I loved the water. My mother liked to call me her little fish.

When I was 5, my mother became pregnant with my little sister, Elin. The pregnancy

proved very difficult and my mother spent a number of months bedridden. I helped my father put

a mini fridge and microwave in their bedroom so that it was easy to access food for her and I

helped make sure my little sister stayed put until her delivery. I became a big sister on

December 4th, 1991 through an emergency birth as Elin had managed to become entangled in

her umbilical cord and was losing oxygen. Sibling rivalry was definitely rife in our household as

the years continued.

I attended the first half of elementary school at Martin Luther King Elementary school

just after it opened but my family made the difficult decision to relocate to De Pere when my

father decided he wanted to return to college at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay to
become a teacher. We built a home and moved and my father was a full time college student.

The memories I have of attending classes with him have stayed with me many years later. I

remember being extremely proud of him and there are parts of the university that are the same

as they were 20 years ago.

When we moved, I was transferred to Dickinson Elementary School in East De Pere.

You didnt know who your teacher was until they posted the class lists by grade on the front of

the school windows. I was very nervous to start and worried I wouldnt be able to make friends. I

was lucky because my teacher was also new to the school. This relationship is one I still have to

this day as she is now a professor and director of Phuture Phoenix for UWGB. I was a book

worm and simply adored finding new literature. I read my first book (a berenstein bears book) as

a kindergartener and never stopped reading. When Harry Potter would come out I would camp

out in the line and then lock myself in my room for a full day with no breaks to eat just to finish it.

I was active in student council from third grade through middle school and I helped

organize dances and fundraisers. I started to learn the flute in middle school and competed in

Solo and Ensemble. Outside of school, I auditioned for local theatre and sang in the Green Bay

Girls Choir. We would perform around the state and at the Weidner. My theatre company would

do 2 shows a year and I would take acting classes. This was the start of my love for the stage.

Once I began at East De Pere High School, I saw that auditions were being held for

people for the competitive one act play. I auditioned and landed my first high school production

and this became the most influential extracurricular I could be involved in. The faculty assigned

to that organization became the teacher that inspired me to become an english teacher. I started

my schools drama club and took part in the larger productions as well as directed a few. I was

in the marching band and traveled to New York City and Florida.

I decided to attend the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point straight out of high school

and initially decided to go into biology and spanish. I didnt realize at the time that this was

completely the wrong choice. I attended 3 years there and changed paths to be an English
student before withdrawing and entering the workforce. I worked for a bank who had corporate

offices there and quickly was promoted to management. When the opportunity arose to relocate

back to Green Bay and set up another office, I quickly offered my services. I moved back to

Green Bay 2 weeks later.

In 2012, while still in Stevens Point, I decided I wanted to finish my degree but did not

want to do so at Stevens Point. UWGB offers an amazing online degree program and in 2013, 2

weeks after relocating back to Green Bay, I graduated. It was the proudest I have ever been of

myself. I worked for my bank happily until 2015 when I decided I needed to return to school and

become a teacher. It was always my calling, I just ignored it for far too long. I quit my steady,

well paying job, to start working 4 jobs part time while attending college again full time.

I attended my Phuture Phoenix class at UWGB, I chose Phantom Knight School of

Opportunity to complete my field work. Its an alternative education experience and when I

walked out from my tour the first day visiting it, I cried in my car. I knew that I was where I was

supposed to be. I enjoyed my time in an alternative school setting so much, that I have decided

that it may be something to continue in as I look at my own future career.

I spend a lot of time in Florence, WI where my family has acreage and a private lake. We

have our camper there while we work on building a home for my parents to retire to and I swim

every day. It hasnt been easy, but I am incredibly grateful for the experiences I have had and

hope that I can help other students as time goes on discover their passions and purposes in life.