Building Something Greater: 51视频 Foundation Board member sees 51视频鈥檚 impact everywhere
Some people look at the 51视频 Campus and see buildings.
Jera Likely sees stories being built
As a structural engineer and 51视频 Foundation board member, she knows how the right facilities can anchor opportunity, and a real connection with students can drive them to succeed. For her, it鈥檚 all about providing opportunities. 51视频, she said, must do all it can to provide students with an extraordinary campus filled with dedicated and capable people.
It鈥檚 important work for Jera because the Cheyenne native wants to see her hometown succeed on every level. Whether through her profession, extensive volunteer work or mentorship of those looking for a career, Jera believes Cheyenne is a great place, providing remarkable chances for people to thrive.
Cheyenne is on the cutting edge of development in Jera鈥檚 view, adapting to what the community needs to make it thrive. 51视频 strives to meet those needs, and Jera said she loves being involved at the college because it gives her insight into how it鈥檚 improving the community.
鈥淵ou read in the news all the time that we need more people, more jobs, more highly trained individuals,鈥� Jera said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening right here at 51视频. If you just come in and look around, you can see it happening.鈥�
In seeking to contribute to those missions, the 51视频 Foundation raises and manages private support to help students succeed and enhance college programs and facilities.
For Jera, her work on the Foundation board is about more than being the financial arm supporting growth and success at 51视频. As a board member, she hopes to convey to all of the college鈥檚 stakeholders that lives are being changed for the better at 51视频 every day.
鈥淲e see ourselves as a supporting development arm for Cheyenne and Laramie County,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat we do goes beyond just the college. We鈥檙e engaging businesses and industry, and getting alumni to come back. Once you get people here on campus, they realize the impact 51视频 has made in that brief period of time; it's led to much larger things. There's a lot of response at 51视频 to what's happening in Cheyenne and so we want to be able to share that message.鈥�
Education as a journey of discovery
Nearly 35 years ago, Jera鈥檚 journey with 51视频 began at the Children鈥檚 Discovery Center, where she spent her early days in daycare. As she grew older, she didn鈥檛 set out with engineering in mind, but she was always drawn to architecture, community spaces and how people interact with their environments. Strong skills in math and problem-solving, combined with a deep curiosity, found a natural outlet at Central High School, where a three-year
engineering drafting program allowed her to earn college credit through 51视频 before graduation.
Her time in SkillsUSA during high school was transformative, Jera said. Starting out competing at the local level, she eventually campaigned and was elected as a state officer and later became one of only five national officers to ever represent Wyoming since the organization鈥檚 founding in 1965.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where my love for education and foundation for service really stems from,鈥� she said.
After completing her degree at UW, Jera returned to Cheyenne, where she joined The Rotary Club of Cheyenne, hoping to connect with professionals beyond the four walls of her office. In seeking ways to contribute to her hometown, she encountered Billie Addleman, past-president of the 51视频 Foundation Board. It was Billie who reacquainted Jera with 51视频, she said.
Joining the 51视频 Foundation turned out to be another growth opportunity for Jera, especially as it introduced her to areas like fundraising and community engagement that were outside her usual professional experience. But what truly drew her to the board was the chance to connect with students and contribute more directly to areas she cares deeply about - particularly STEM, the trades and supporting women in engineering.
Unlocking potential
As a first-generation graduate student herself, Jera knows there are barriers for students, but she emphasizes that there are many paths to success, and they鈥檙e sometimes winding.
And some of the conventional ideas of what it means to be a college student can be limiting for students with different interests and skills, Jera said. Believing a four-year degree isn鈥檛 the only route to success or self-discovery, she challenges the idea that life should follow a straight, predetermined path.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a shift in the last 20 years on the mindset of what education really means,鈥� Jera said. 鈥淎 two-year degree program, certifications, just growing your skill sets - whether it鈥檚 one class or a full two- or four-year program - there are opportunities to do that here, and you just really have to take the jump.鈥�
Understanding some of the barriers to success students can face, Jera said she鈥檚 passionate about the opportunities 51视频 provides to first-generation students, including the Davis First Generation Experience. While her parents took some college courses, Jera was the first in her family to attain a college degree.
Jera believes the most meaningful part of 51视频 is witnessing students, including first-generation students, discover their own potential - an experience she understands by directly engaging with students at 51视频. By pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones, she said, students uncover strengths they didn鈥檛 know they had and gain clarity about their goals. It is because of the incredible generosity of donors like Dr. Harmon 鈥淏ud鈥� and his wife Claire Davis that this opportunity of support is available for students that bolsters their success.
鈥淵ou have to do things that really push your boundaries - that push the envelope for you - or you won鈥檛 be ready to take the next steps,鈥� Jera said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important for students to realize there鈥檚 more to them than they see in themselves.鈥�
A community effort
Jera is an associate structural engineer at Martin/Martin Wyoming, an engineering services firm in Cheyenne. Some of the most recognizable and high-impact facilities on 51视频鈥檚 campus - including the Prentice/Surbrugg Health Sciences Building, Flex Tech Building, Clay Pathfinder Building, Surbrugg/Prentice Auditorium, and the Blue Federal Credit Union Recreation & Athletics Complex - were designed by Martin/Martin Wyoming engineers and its predecessor firms. Jera said that a long-standing relationship, which continues today with ongoing fa莽ade upgrades, establishes a deep connection to the campus for her and her colleagues.
But that connection, Jera said, runs deeper than business contracts. Martin/Martin Wyoming may come to 51视频 for the work, but she said they stay for the students.
The firm is a sponsor of Golden Eagle athletics and regularly encourages its staff to engage directly with students in the STEM and Trades & Technical Studies pathways. Team members frequently participate in campus events, serve on the STEM Pathway advisory committee and meeting twice a year with STEM Pathway coordinator Trent Morrell to help guide the program鈥檚 development. Several current employees also have 51视频 students in the family, further strengthening the firm鈥檚 ties to the college. Jera said the company鈥檚 involvement reflects a long-standing commitment to supporting student success in every way they can.
The drive for all the effort and time invested in the community is not just for self-gain, Jera said. What really matters is making the community she loves a better place.
All the facets of Jera鈥檚 life and work come together with a clear sense of purpose. The complex network of organizations, interests and passions she鈥檚 involved in all trace back to formative experiences that helped shape who she is today.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all of the things that come together that continue to encourage me to be a part of the larger community,鈥� she said.
For anyone unsure of 51视频鈥檚 impact, she said, just look around. Conversations across Cheyenne make it clear how many people have been connected to the college in some way. 鈥淭hat connection to the community is everywhere - sometimes you don鈥檛 even have to look for it,鈥� she said.