College of Arts and Sciences

On this week’s episode of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD, interviews one of the nine alumni inducted into the 2021 Alumni Hall of Fame, Jessica McCaskill, who graduated with a bachelor’s in mass communications in 2006.

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 7. Listeners can tune into WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

McCaskill made her professional boxing debut in 2015. In the lightweight division, she earned the No. 1 female ranking in the U.S. and third in the world. Based in Chicago, she was the first female to headline in the state of Illinois, making history. She has achieved numerous accolades, including being named Ring Magazine’s 2018 Most Inspirational Fighter after winning her first World Boxing Council title, and World Boxing News’ 2020 Women’s Fighter of the Year. She was featured in the 2018 Amazon Prime documentary, “Making McCaskill.” After moving to the welterweight division, she became the unified and undisputed welterweight champion in 2020. McCaskill is one of only three female fighters holding the undisputed title.

“Welcome to Segue, Ms. McCaskill,” Leonard begins. “Tell us a little about yourself. Where did you grow up, and how did you end up studying mass communications at SIUE?”

“I grew up in Belleville,” McCaskill says. “I think SIUE was the only school that came to my high school, and I had a lack of resources myself. They gave me a pamphlet, and I ran with it. When it came time to pick my major, everything about mass communications was so intriguing from radio and audio to design and print; I just knew this was going to fill my head with ideas, and it was something I was going to be successful at.”

“Were there specific individuals, faculty members or other students, who inspired you during your time here at SIUE?” Leonard inquires.

“For sure, all the people in the communication and theater and dance departments,” explains McCaskill. “The teachers were passionate about what they did. I was in Dr. Laura Hanson’s theater makeup class, and I learned how to transform visuals with makeup and different elements of the class. Dr. Hicks taught media law and some of the really intricate media classes. Professor Montgomery was also stern about the education he was giving. It was serious and not to be wasted or taken lightly. That helped me be serious about it as well.”

“Are there other ways in which your SIUE education prepared you for what you do – both as a fighter and in your career?” Leonard asks.

“I started out in an ad agency, which is a very mass comm direct job,” states McCaskill. “Then, I branched off into other things like finance and professional sports. I feel like there’s always going to be an element of communication no matter where you’re at, and I’ve always been prepared for whatever situation I’ve come across because of my college degree.”

“How did you become interested in boxing?” asks Leonard.

“I’ve always been involved in sports since I was little,” states McCaskill. “Of course, having access to the gym here, I could always go running if I needed to. But once college was over, I was looking for something more. I didn’t play on any teams and the gym wasn’t the same as the college atmosphere. I started to do a kickboxing class and loved it. Across from my gym there was someone teaching boxing and once I realized I didn’t have to kick anymore, I decided boxing was the way to go. I needed more of the competition feeling.”

“Would you say there is a connection between your studies, your career and what you’ve taken into the world of boxing?” Leonard inquires.

“I have definitely used those standards of ‘show up early, leave late, work hard every single day, push yourself, motivate other people’ in everything I’ve done – whether it was classes in college, a corporate job, and now into boxing. And believe it or not, the boxing world is very similar to the finance world in the way that it’s very competitive.”

Tune in at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, to WSIE 88.7 The Sound to hear the entire conversation.