We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Youm recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

When I was a junior in undergrad, my Shakespearean acting professor asked me to have a conversation about my career path. I wanted to be a lawyer and I was studying psychology and modern languages. He says that I was born to be an actor and he wanted to support me in that endeavor.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born in Senegal and am a third culture kid who is a mix of American, Senegalese, French, and other cultures. I am a polyglot and like to call myself a Jackie of all trades. I teach French, English, Spanish, Acting, Mediation, and Negotiations. I am a storyteller at my core. I have been a teacher for almost 15 years and have had the honor to teach people from all corners of the world and from all walks of life. I have a deep love and passion for stories – all kinds of stories. I love to feel and make others feel. I enjoy facilitating all kinds of conversations (deep, silly, fast, whole…). My mission in life is to push for this world to be for people and for all people to have their basic needs met (food, shelter, health…).

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that there are so many ways in which the government and people can support artists and creatives. The government should have more funding allocated to artists and creative so that they can survive on their art. In some countries, the government give a living wage to artists. People should support in any way that they can, whether it is it to share the work with others, engage with their content, fund their work, provide them with any of their needs that one can provide without any hardship… we should work more cohesively as a society as I strongly believe that we can all win together if we all work together.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think that the most rewarding aspects of being an artist and creative for me are the relationships made, the ability to feel and to emote all of the gamut of human emotion, and the stories that I am able to share. I realize those are multiple things but they are equally important and rewarding to me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jy_artiste?igsh=NnEwdWo2bmVraW1y&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/xTfDmNx81uWXmmKx/?mibextid=dGKdO6
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CestJackie?si=1jUVaH3mDcm_3lVd

Image Credits
Nate Jackson Photography Margot Schulman Photography Kent Kondo Harvey Levine