By Foster Conner and Valerie Salas
Page Editor and Design Editor
Dr. Jamelle Conner’s journey to be the president of Amarillo College wasn’t a straight path. From working three jobs as a first-generation college student to earning her PhD while raising a family with her husband Martin, her story is one of persistence.
Conner said that toward the end of her high school career she heard others talking about heading to college and decided that was something she also she wanted to pursue.
“My mom and I worked to get these scholarships so that I could afford to go,” Conner said. “I worked three jobs on campus, so I was very blessed to have that opportunity to do that, to help pay for things while I was in college. I walked across the stage for my master’s degree. I was about eight months pregnant with our first daughter. So I definitely dealt with all the trying to get to classes, work full time, not feeling well a lot of the time, but still accomplishing that,” she said.
Conner said that her desire to get to know students is what led her to pursue a PhD. “As a family decision, I thought I’ll start back and then if the family starts to suffer, if there’s issues, if I have to stop my school, then I will. Semester-by-semester, we just kept inching through it. So many late nights of sitting at the computer trying to get my coursework done and then stopping to do first grade spelling words to make sure that one of the daughters was ready for that. But little-by-little, I kept working toward it until I graduated,” Conner said.
Conner first visited Amarillo around 2018 or 2019 and later applied for the Amarillo College presidency but was not a finalist the first time.
“It kind of came back around that this opportunity was still available. So, when I applied again and got the opportunity to come and visit Amarillo and meet with the board of regents, I brought Martin with me. He fell in love with Amarillo, too, right away and the people in the community.”
After securing the AC presidency position, Conner and Martin began the moving process. “We’ve got our house, so we’re getting settled in there,” she said. “It’s definitely been a whirlwind but I’ve loved being able to start meeting the students and getting to know the campuses and meeting with people around the community,” Conner said.
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