Beyond the Classroom: Dr. Jessica Sykes

Photo provided by Rampage student photographer Savannah Thompson

Dr. Jessica Sykes has become a beloved faculty member on campus. She is involved in several faith-based activities and is a faculty mentor for the women’s volleyball team – all while serving as the chair of the Department of Psychology and Human Services.

Dr. Sykes earned her undergraduate degrees in athletic training and kinesiology from Lincoln Memorial University. Although she had planned to attend medical school, she returned to LMU as a graduate assistant so she could get a free master’s degree and become an athletic trainer. But LMU had limited options at the time, and Dr. Sykes ended up getting her master’s degree in counseling.

 “God completely flipped my careers around,” Dr. Sykes said. She went from wanting to be an orthopedic surgeon to a counselor.

After graduating from LMU, she began her career in North Carolina, working in several areas of mental health and human services. Her first job was at a residential facility for teenage girls, where she worked for about a month and a half before moving on to another company. In this role, she worked with the top six percent of the most severely mentally ill individuals in the state. She visited psychiatric wards to assess patients before they were discharged and helped ensure they had the support networks and resources needed to live successfully in the community.

Although the work was difficult, she loved it and continued to advance in her career. By the age of 26, she handled approximately 300 staff members across 13 counties. During this time, she gained extensive experience handling crisis situations and learned valuable lessons from mistakes made along the way. She also obtained additional professional licenses to expand the services she could provide.

After seven to eight years in this field, she found her passion for criminal psychology, which eventually led her to work at Red Onion State Prison, a Virginia supermax facility. During her time there, she worked with inmates, including individuals known as the “Christmas Tree Killer” and Marlo. These are some of the most well-known killers that were around Virginia and North Carolina, and they could be extremely dangerous if they are ever released.

“I’d love to go back and work there again in a heartbeat,” Dr. Sykes said.

After leaving the prison, she moved into community-based services, where she continued her work in substance abuse treatment and community mental health. Throughout her career, she gained experience working with individuals facing complex mental health challenges, criminal behavior, and substance abuse issues.

When COVID-19 came around, Dr. Sykes was not happy with the standard of counseling provided around the area. This led her back to school for a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision.

 “I wanted to do this so I can become an educator of educators,” Dr. Sykes said.

One of Dr. Sykes’s favorite things about Bluefield University is its faith-based aspect. She does not get held back from her faith, and if a student wants to engage in faith, they can. Students can also come to her, and she will help them because there is a God that will always love you, Dr. Sykes said.

Student Katie Barrett said, “Dr. Sykes is the best person on campus if I ever need to talk about something in the classroom, court, or anything about my faith, and I always feel comfortable going to talk to her.”

Dr. Sykes’ future goals include developing the psychology and human service programs at Bluefield so there are more classes available.

“I’d love to see a doctorate program in Bluefield, maybe in clinical psychology or general psychology,” Dr. Sykes said.