Biography

Jessica Vigil is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a proud member of the White Mountain Apache Nation. She will graduate in Spring 2026 with a BA in English and a BA in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, with a minor in Creative Writing. She is currently a public history intern at the Library of Virginia, and an intern and judge for the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival. She works with Highland Support Project as a networker between the White Mountain Apache Nation and Richmond, as well as a lesson planner focused on incorporating Indigenous perspectives. She is also a co-founder of the Common Roots Community Garden, and the student-led organization, Humans United in Peace. She is also on the leaderboards for VCU’s English Club and Advocates for Equal Education Club, and a contributing writer for the Commonwealth Times. She plans to pursue an MFA degree in Poetry after graduation, and move to Arizona to live among her tribe.