By Megan Norcross

When you look at this young man, you would never think he is from Roswell, Georgia, a suburb about 15 minutes from Atlanta. Micah Jesse, a junior at the University, is very much a city dweller; he has known since he was young that he was going to move to New York.

Jesse, who is majoring in public relations with a minor in Hebrew, ended up at the University for many reasons. Its proximity to New York City was very important and its ratings as a good communication school were also major factors for him. Actually, Jesse originally planned to transfer, but he has found his niche and is happy here.

Looking at Jesse’s passion for Israel and Hebrew is fascinating. He has been studying the language since elementary school and, although he didn’t take any classes during high school, he’s visited Israel numerous times. Once he was there on the Alexander Muss High School trip, a five-week-long, intensive trip where students basically live like Israelis. He also attended the two-week program called March of the Living, which spent one week in Poland and one week in Israel. The most fascinating part for Jesse on that trip was going to the concentration camps; his grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. On the day they left Poland and arrived in Israel, it was Israel’s Independence Day, so there were many celebrations and parades, in a huge contrast to where they had just been.

Jesse works very hard; he lives a driven life and tries to be the best at everything he can. Right now, he’s taking a full course load as well as working in Manhattan. He is a freelance event coordinator for night life, which means that he brings attractive, fun and outgoing people to nightclubs and establishments such as Caine, Kush Lounge and the Madison. His job is to “fill the room with presence,” and his goal is to work in the sector of public relations that involves being the medium between a personality or product and the media. For example, Jesse was YouTube sensation Mia Rose’s assistant for a time; he took her to red carpet events and other gatherings in the city. Many people know Jesse on campus from an article in Pulse magazine when it was revealed that he knows the gossip mogul Perez Hilton.

Jesse has his own blog, micahjesse.com, and he loves talking about his experiences to people, reiterating that he is just an ordinary person. He has this amazing drive and works very hard to make connections, and it has led him to amazing places, places anyone can reach.

(Jacqueline Hlavenka/ The Chronicle)