Jessica Plowman is uniquely familiar with the opportunities she and her wife, Jennifer, are helping to provide through their monthly gift to WMCAT. She played a part in creating those same opportunities for young people – and witnessing the impact – when she worked as the video game design teaching artist in WMCAT’s Teen Arts + Tech Program.
Jessica (left) and Jennifer (right) Plowman.
When the Plowmans left Michigan in 2017 to pursue exciting next steps in Jessica’s game development career, they committed to supporting WMCAT’s mission financially as soon as they were settled. Just after landing a position in the industry, Jessica became an Opportunity Curator with a monthly gift to WMCAT which her new employer agreed to match.
“Each month, we know our gift goes to support creative programming for youth in a similar way that my direct efforts did in the past,” shared Jessica. “I’m still in contact with many of my former students, and I’ve seen firsthand how their experience at WMCAT has enriched their lives and contributed to their success.”
The Plowmans are driven to give both by their own early career challenges – when the support of their community, family, and friends was essential – and by the work they experienced during Jessica’s time at WMCAT. “We want to support programs that are helping young people chart new paths to prosperity using education and technology, and that give youth a solid foundation for their future.”
Jessica takes a selfie with WMCAT teen artists while teaching video game design.
As WMCAT Opportunity Curators, the Plowmans are leveraging their own growing success to invite young people into the career pathway and industry that has provided them with so many opportunities. “We believe that when you have more, you build a larger table. Our monthly giving to WMCAT is one way we live out that belief.”
Join the Plowmans as Opportunity Curators – a group of passionate sustainers for WMCAT – and advance our collective work to provide equitable access to opportunity. Your monthly gift helps to build a bigger table, supporting the mission of WMCAT year-round.
Visit wmcat.org/donate to become an Opportunity Curator today!
