Fifty years ago, 89 students arrived in Lakeville and ushered in a new era of women and girls at Hotchkiss. Throughout the 2024-25 academic year, Hotchkiss will reflect on their inspiring legacy, pay tribute to the achievements of students who followed in their footsteps, and gratefully acknowledge all members of the Hotchkiss community who boldly helped steer the School forward.
By Erin Reid P’01,’05
In honor of Veterans Day this month, we offer the following Alum of the Month profile as a tribute to all who have served and those who support them.
Captain Jessica Parker ’95 has traveled all over the world as a naval officer and aviator. She recently became the commanding officer of the Naval ROTC Unit for Rutgers and Princeton and the professor of naval science at Rutgers. Parker has been recognized for her distinguished 24 years of military service with numerous medals, and she credits Hotchkiss with instilling “a desire to serve something bigger than myself and the confidence to lead.”
While attending public school in St. Louis, MO, Parker went to a recruiting event and became intrigued by the possibilities at Hotchkiss. “I wanted to explore the world,” she recalled. “I loved sports, and Hotchkiss had so many girls’ teams. The brochure pictured a beautiful campus, and I thought I would thrive in a smaller school. I applied and received a scholarship, and my mom said that even with the expense of travel and clothes, we could probably make our family budget work so that I could attend.”
She says that Charlie Bell, her cross-country coach and math teacher, made classes interesting and explained “concepts with zeal in ways students could understand.” Parker still jogs, often with the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipmen—college students at Rutgers and Princeton who are working toward a commission in the Navy or Marine Corps. She also enjoyed creative writing class and art with Brad Faus P’10. She spent a year abroad in Barcelona, Spain, with the support of Keith Moon P'13,'16, E. Carleton Granbery Teaching Chair, instructor in English, history, and Russian language, and Lufkin Prize recipient.
Parker decided to go into the military during her lower-mid year. “I liked the idea of being challenged mentally and physically,” she explains. “I really wanted to fly in the Navy, where my grandfather and both of my uncles had served. I wanted to experience flying aircraft onto ships and never seriously considered any other military branch. I now joke that it was a combination of patriotism and poverty. My family was on a tight budget, and I knew the Naval Academy didn’t charge tuition, and it even provided a small stipend.”
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, Parker received an M.S. in operations management from the University of Arkansas and was designated a naval aviator in 2002. Her operational assignments included serving as catapult and arresting gear officer aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where in 2015 she led an all-female Catapult Team consisting of 14 female sailors assigned to launch aircraft support of Operation Enduring Freedom. “It is hard work to launch and recover aircraft on a carrier, and there were skeptics that thought it couldn’t be accomplished by only women. It takes folks with many different perspectives to have the best chances at success, and in the case of the U.S. military, the best combat effectiveness. Whenever we try to pare down the talent pool based on something other than character and competence, we make ourselves less combat effective.”
Since that time, Parker had another tour flying the MH-60S Seahawk with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron SIX, deploying on the USS Nimitz. “I was also the executive officer and then the commanding officer of Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHT (HT-8), instructing in the TH-57 Sea Ranger.” She accumulated more than 2,700 hours in the MH-60S Seahawk and TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters, and also deployed in 2020 as the air officer on the USS Bataan.
She has received the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
Parker notes two major changes during her years of service. “The first was the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (and later DOMA) which allowed LGBTQ servicemembers to serve openly and their families to receive equitable benefits. The second was the repeal of the exclusion of women from certain military specialties. The Combat Exclusion Policy for aviators was repealed in the 1990s, but ground combat units were still off-limits to women. As we fought through the War on Terrorism after 2001, these limits did not keep women from going into harm’s way. Women proved they are courageous warfighters.
“Subsequently, in 2011, the first women started reporting aboard submarines. In 2013, the military ended combat exclusion for women, and in 2023 the first female sailor successfully completed the Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen course in the Navy Special Warfare community. This major policy shift provides the broadest talent pool ensuring people are measured by their capabilities, competence, and character. This is our competitive advantage over some of our potential adversaries. Additionally, the military is one of the few places where men and women have pay and opportunity parity. Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations, proved you can rise to the top ranks of the U.S. Navy as a woman.”
Parker recommends a military career for anyone who wants to be challenged and who wants to do their part to preserve the freedoms enshrined by the U.S. Constitution. “I also recommend it for anyone who wants to have an adventure. I’ve traveled and deployed all over the world. There is no other career where you can get so much leadership experience so quickly. Whether you serve five years or 35 years, there is nothing like the camaraderie built among members of the Armed Forces.”
She adds, “Hotchkiss is a fantastic place to begin a life of service and adventure. It gave me the initial tools and practice I needed to be a leader, from that first flight as an aircraft commander to commanding a helicopter squadron to providing frank assessments for four-star generals and admirals.”