Miss Palm Beach County First in Family to Graduate College

After undergoing national media attention in January, 2008, due to lipstick sabotage of her $3400 Miss South Florida Fair pageant gown, Wellington resident and Northwood University student Jessica Wittenbrink credits support of parents and generous scholarship awards toward achievement of the milestone.

“Jessica was always very aware that mom and dad were struggling to pay bills, and one of the challenges was also putting money away toward her college tuition,” said her mom, Gayla Wittenbrink. “Because her father and I never went to college, we always knew that somehow we’d make it possible for Jessica to achieve a degree. We never dreamed that she’d be able to attend a private university like Northwood, but due to its generous scholarship funds combined with Jessica’s pageant scholarships, it funded itself. We can now apply the money we saved toward her graduate degree some day,” she said.

Described by her mother as always being driven toward success, Wittenbrink, a banking and finance major who hopes to compete in the Miss America Pageant, credits her Northwood experience toward playing a major role in helping her to achieve the Miss Palm Beach County crown. "The way that Northwood University infuses discussion relating to current events, international business, government, and economics into the classroom has been very beneficial to my overall education and also to my pageant competitions," said the Banking and Finance major.

"Use of The Wall Street Journal, and other material in class ensures we're well versed in international relations, economics and politics which is something pageant judges look for," said Wittenbrink. "Northwood University class projects, guest speakers, and presentations have all provided me with the exposure and communication skills needed to develop passionate viewpoints in which I'm eloquently able relay to the judges," she said.

By achieving her goal of one day competing in the Miss America pageant Wittenbrink may one day wear the four-pointed crown with each point signifying ideals well related to The Northwood Idea - success, service, scholarship and style.

Northwood University is committed to the most personal attention to prepare students for success in their careers and in their communities; it promotes critical thinking skills and personal effectiveness, and the importance of ethics, individual freedom and responsibility.

Private, nonprofit and accredited, Northwood University specializes in managerial and entrepreneurial education at three full-service, residential campuses located in Southern Florida, mid-Michigan and Northern Texas. Adult Degree Programs are available in eight states with many course delivery options including online. The DeVos Graduate School offers full-time, evening and industry specific master’s degree programs for entrepreneurs and executives in Michigan, Texas and Switzerland. The Alden B. Dow Creativity Center on the Midland, Michigan, campus specializes in creative thinking and innovation development. International education is offered through terms abroad and in Program Centers in Switzerland, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bahrain. Northwood University also operates the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Maine.

Suzi McCreery
Director of Public Relations
Northwood University
2600 N. Military Trail
West Palm Beach, Fl. 33409

This release was published on openPR.