Recent Manor College graduate Sheresa Palmer plans to use her experience in her new role as a training coordinator with the district attorney’s office.
Palmer and Jeffrey Jarvis were high school sweethearts. Later, in 2014, she gave birth to the couple’s son, Jay’len.
On the evening of Dec. 22, 2015, Palmer returned home from Christmas shopping with Jay’len when she got a call from her friend. Jarvis was shot 10 times, including four times in the chest. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital but died that evening.
Palmer was inspired to pursue a career in criminal justice.
“I want to make an impact on drugs, sexual assault and more,” she said.
She transferred into Manor College after another institution shut down.
“Manor College was welcoming and I prayed on it,” Palmer said. “I knew I could make an impact. Professor (Mary) Sims made sure I got where I needed to. I could call her any time of night. She helped me with papers and looked out for me.”
She was nominated in 2020 for the Mother Josaphat Award – the institution’s highest student award. She received the Unsung Hero award from Manor’s Student Affairs team for “putting her heart and soul into everything she does, even when the work goes unrecognized.” Palmer also served as a member of Rotaract, Social Justice Club and the women’s soccer team.
Palmer earned her Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Manor in 2020. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration in May of this year. During her college career, she interned with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
A week before graduation, she received a promotion and became a training coordinator. Her job guides the training team in preparing legal internship programs and training for the newest class of lawyers studying the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Palmer is taking master’s courses in Forensic Psychology at Neumann University and is studying for the LSAT. She hopes to pursue a doctorate degree. ••
