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OC Resident Becomes SDSU's First Trans Graduate
By Chad Ratner
Jessica Compton, age 27, will be the first openly transgender student to graduate from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science. Ms. Compton will be graduating “Summa Cum Laude” (with highest honors), and will also receive the award for Outstanding Baccalaureate Valedictorian 2010 in the Department of Computer Science.
Jessica’s story is truly inspiring. Just a few years ago, she was left homeless as a result of her transition from male to female. Jessica was barely surviving on one meal a day at the San Diego LGBT Youth Center. At one point, she had no money left on her credit card, and was down to her last fifteen cents. Despite her hardship, she continued to attended class every day.
It was at this time that she met her soon-to-be partner of six years, Jamie Starr. The two women happened to meet by chance at a clinic that provided free hormones and legal advice to trans-women. Shortly after, Starr and Compton began dating and later moved to Corona del Mar together.
Ms. Compton’s curriculum to become a Computer Scientist consisted of challenging classes in computer programming, switches, hardware, software, and XML; just to name a few. She also received training at the Art Institute of San Diego, prior to attending San Diego State University.
Jessica has commuted approximately 200 miles a day; a total of three and a half hours to and from class, for the past year. There are many days when she leaves the house at seven in the morning and doesn’t arrive home until midnight. She is proud to have never missed a single class in her entire college career.
The Commencement Ceremony is scheduled to take place in Viejas Arena on Sunday, May 23rd. The Blade would like to congratulate Jessica Compton for her extraordinary accomplishment and wishes her much success!