Before Law School
Jackie was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and grew up in Miamisburg, Ohio; Brandon, Florida and Bedford, Texas. She moved to Lubbock, Texas to attend Texas Tech University in 1990.
During her undergraduate years at Tech, she was in the Goin' Band (Flag Corp), a Miller Girl, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Fraternity, Golden Key Honor Society, and President of the German Honor Society, Delta Phi Alpha. In May 1994 she received a double Bachelor's Degree in German and English.
She also spent two summers in Europe. The first summer was primarily spent in Graz, Austria. During the second summer she had the opportunity to live with a family from the former Eastern Germany, where she spent six weeks in a tiny village about an hour from Berlin.
During graduate school, she taught freshman and sophmore level German courses. In 1996, she earned her Master's Degree in German with a Master's Minor in English. She then taught German as an Instructor at Texas Tech University while completing her education courses in the evenings.
She earned her teaching certificate by completing an internship and teaching in Lockney, Texas. She also taught English at Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas for two years, and she taught German at Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas for one year.