As the lunch bell rings, a wave of students flood the cafeteria, their chatter and laughter filling the air. At the head of the line, lunch lady Karen Jesse stands ready, her apron neatly tied and her hair tucked into a bright, cheerful snoopy Christmas hat. Her eyes light up as she greets students by name, asking about their day and offering a kind word or two. The clatter of trays and the hum of conversation create a lively backdrop as Jesse continues to serve, her comforting and high-spirited presence contrasting the chaotic cafeteria.
Jesse is known for her many impactful and charitable acts, such as helping the mentoring programs, managing ticket tables for most sports, and serving as a crossing guard, but also for many little things on the side. Jesse leaves a legacy of helping support kids who need it and helping her community fundraisers, such as the Santa Breakfast.
Senior Danny Robach has known Jesse for almost his whole life and seen her kindness and positive attitude throughout the years. Robach appreciates her impact.
“She always has something kind to say, and she always has really good stories to tell,” Robach said.
Through Jesse’s constant influence, she hopes to give light to students and teach them important core values that they can remember for the rest of their lives.
“I take pride in what I do, I want every kid to feel special and, maybe, when they grow up and go out into the world say, ‘hey, I can make a difference too’,” Jesse said. “I want to plant a little seed and see what happens, see what kind of flower they grow into.”
English teacher Audra Whetstone has known Jesse her entire teaching career at Northview and attests to her positive character, which impacts not only her but her family as well.
“For both my children, when they were born, she had a personalized embroidered blanket made for them and it’s just so sweet and thoughtful and just reflects who she is,” Whetstone said.
She not only inspires other families but also her own, her kindness is passed down throughout the family and is recognized by their teachers. Jesse’s children see what she does and have followed her lead.
“I had her older daughter Sarah in one of my classes, probably English 11, and I got to know her through that. Then a couple of years later, I also had her son, Ben in English 11, and they were both very sweet, kind, respectful kids, which reflects Mrs. Jesse.” Whetstone said.
Jesse has navigated extreme obstacles dealt to both her and her family. Sometimes, life’s trials and tribulations make people angry or resentful yet Jesse’s have made her resilient. Her positivity shines even through her hardships.
“Last summer, about July-ish, my daughter got very sick- eventually they admitted her to the ER,” Jesse said. “At one time, every specialist from every field was running tests and nobody knew what was wrong with her.”
Eventually, a stroke doctor on call was able to connect her symptoms to his knowledge and help them solve the mystery.
“They ran a bunch of blood work through the mail clinic, and it took ten days- ten long days of trying to wait for results- and it came back and it was like, ‘now we know what she has, but do we really want her to have this,’” Jesse said.
Jesse’s daughter was diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder [or NMOSD] which is a rare autoimmune disease that affects the spinal cord and the optic nerves. While scared, Jesse has still found positivity within it all, some positivity stemming from her daughter.
“Throughout all of this, she has never been negative, she’s always been positive,” Jesse said. “So if she can be positive, I’m gonna be positive.”
Despite this adversity, Sara joined Jesse at the ticket tables Tuesday night, and the community was happy to welcome her back and see her doing well!
Jesse’s presence and impact do not go unnoticed. Students like Robach, staff, and the community recognize her and appreciate what she does for us all.
“Thank you for being a positive influence on my life,” Robach said.
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