About Jesse Whidden

First things first: If you don't want to read through all this stuff, just click on the Google search for "Jesse Whidden" and read through the results. (I'm not a dead Confederate veteran, in case you were wondering.)

I was born on August 27, 1981. My first home was a trailer house in St. Edward, NE (population 796); I lived there until the summer of 1983 when we moved to a farm two miles south of town. In 1996, my family moved about a mile west of there to my grandparents' house after they had both passed away, and that is my current permanent address (41° 33' 07" N, 97° 52' 10" W; 1679 feet above sea level).

Back on the farm, we raise or have kept as pets the following animals: cattle, swine, cats, dogs, llamas, miniature donkeys, a pot-bellied pig, pygmy hamsters, a rabbit, guinea pigs, and various fish. Quite a list, eh? Living in a rural setting is (in my opinion) one of the best ways to learn about nature and life's true priorities. I am very glad that I was able to grow up on a farm in east-central Nebraska.

Anyway, I attended the St. Edward Early Learning Center in 1986-87, and began kindergarten at St. Edward Public Schools in 1987. In elementary, I was in the Rolling Hills 4-H Club and Cub Scouts. From 1992 to 1996 I competed in the Nebraska Geography Bee. I placed 4th in 1995, 2nd in 1992, and won the competition in 1994, earning the right to compete in the National Geography Bee in Washington, DC. I played T-ball and swam at the swimming pool in the summers. I had a huge passion for Nintendo video games back then, as well.

In junior high and high school (also at St. Edward Public Schools), I became involved in many activities and organizations. They include:

Image of Jesse WhiddenAs you can see, I was a pretty involved kid. However, when your graduating class size is 25 and there are only 240 kids in a K-12 school, you can see how it was so easy to become involved. I was fortunate to go to a school, despite its small size, had opportunities for academic and extracurricular development. Finally, we have the best mascot ever; we are the St. Edward Beavers. Go Beavers!

The high school organization I had the best experience in was FCCLA. I was a state officer my senior year, I won national recognition in the STAR competitive events three times, developed the first FCCLA-related Web site in existance in 1995, and I made many friends from across the state and the nation. I also thoroughly enjoyed football, track, powerlifting, and speech/drama.

Sooner or later, though, it came time to graduate and move on to college. Pleased with the results of standardized testing (more information in the previously mentioned Google Search), I applied to Nebraska, Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Stanford; I was accepted to all of them except for Stanford. I decided to attend Nebraska because it was the cheapest option available (i.e., free) and because I was accepted into a new, unique program - the J. D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management. This programs combines computer science and business courses to develop future leaders in the information technology field, or something like that. I graduated from high school in 2000.

At the present time, I am a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I am a management major, and I have three minors: math, computer science and history. I live in the Kauffman Academic Residential Center (40° 49' 10" N, 96° 42' 02" W; 1173 feet above sea level).

Around campus, I'm a past or persent member of these organizations: Kauffman Residents' Association; College of Business Administration Student Advisory Board; University Ambassadors; Chancellor's Leadership Class, its Alumni Board, and as a facilitator; Emerging Leaders Class; Honors Program Peer Mentor; and Emerging Leaders Class. I ran unsuccessfully for the student senate my sophomore year, and I was on the Nebraska at Oxford study abroad program in the summer of 2002.

Outside of the academic world, I help out the Nebraska FCCLA Association as a volunteer; when I'm home, I help my family with many assorted St. Edward community events; I stay informed on the political issues of the day (I'm registered as a Republican, but my political leanings are very moderate and I believe ideologies only impede solutions to society's problems); I am a TierOne Bank stockholder; I have recently taken up recreational cycling; and I do this Web site for kicks and giggles. Sadly, it seems this site is currently my greatest contribution to humanity; hopefully I'll have something more useful to note here later on in life.

Here's what interests/amuses me:

Want to browse like me? Here's how:

After graduating next year, I plan on getting an MBA from a university other than Nebraska; one of the institutions I mentioned previously would do quite nicely. After that...I really don't know. I like to keep my options open, and I'm also a huge procrastinator. There you have it. Congratulations on making it to the end of this page. If I hadn't written it, I would have given up reading a long time ago. You're a more dedicated reader than I.

© 2003 Jesse Whidden
Last Modified 8/17/2003