Alumni Spotlight: Mathias and Emma Jackson

Over the past 110 years, more than 200,000 individuals have graduated from Webster University around the world.

Join Us As We Highlight Their Webster Stories

Meet Mathias and Emma Jackson, who met on their first day of school at Webster University. Mathias earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 2006 and then a Master of Arts in International Relations in 2007, while Emma completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Regional Theatre in 2006.

What enticed you to choose Webster University for your degree?

Mathias: Having studied abroad in Japan in high school, I wanted to continue with the language while also focusing on international relations as a career path. Webster offered me the opportunity to do both, with the chance to again study in Japan. 

Emma: My junior year of high school, Peter Sargent (the founding dean of the Webster University Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts) saw me performing in a showcase and invited me to audition for the Conservatory. I was attracted to Webster’s reputation for turning out professional working actors.

Did you meet at Webster?

Mathias: Emma and I met on the first day of school. My best friend since kindergarten was helping me move into the dorm and just happened to see Emma down the hall. He was convinced she was the next girl I was going to date, ha. We ended up becoming friends in the first semester of freshman year, then started dating in February 2003. We dated through undergrad, got engaged in our senior year, then married as soon as I finished my MA. Post graduation, we did the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan as a young married couple. We moved to Washington, D.C., in 2012, and had our first of three kids in November of 2015.

Emma: I lived on the third floor of the Loretto dorm building, and he lived on the second floor. His friends had pointed me out as “the next girl you are going to date” on moving day. As we formed our friend groups within the dorms, we were often running into each other. We had our first official date on Valentine’s Day of freshman year, and we’ve been together ever since!

What stood out about your studies at Webster?

Mathias: I am so grateful for the holistic education and experience Webster provided. I earned two degrees, swam on the swim team and played tennis on the tennis team, was extremely active in SGA, becoming president my sophomore year, was an RA twice, was the Student Director of Student Health Services, lifeguarded at the pool, was the president of the University Center Board, studied abroad at Kansas University my junior year and was the graduate assistant at the Center for International Education. It’s hard to imagine a school that could have provided a more incredibly enriching experience over five years.

Emma:  The Conservatory is such a uniquely challenging and rigorous educational experience it can be hard to explain. I learned so much, not just about acting, but about life. Ultimately, Conservatory taught me how to take the lead in my own life.

The most obvious and enormous impact on my life has been meeting and marrying my best friend. None of the decisions we’ve made together to shape our life would have occurred had we not met in the dorms. 

How did your Webster degree help advance you in your career?

Mathias: I’ve served in the Peace Corps, supported international development projects in 40-plus developing countries and directly managed programming under the U.S. Agency for International Development and Department of State. Webster’s influence was omnipresent in that work. 

Emma: Webster trains actors not just how to act, but how to be their own business manager. When the opportunity to take over a farm operation was dropped in my lap, I was able to manage my branding, marketing, bookkeeping and customer relations, as well as growing and designing flowers. I knew how to start and run a business and could do it confidently. The florist (and former actor) Max Gill describes designing with flowers as setting a stage with actors – placement within the design determining visual power – just the way Doug Finlayson taught me in directing class. The number of useful things I know that came from Conservatory are endless.

What is your favorite spot on your Webster campus? Favorite spot around the University?

Emma: When I was there, the Spaces, for obvious reasons. Whenever we come to visit, we stop and visit the Novel Neighbor to see Holland Saltsman who was a big part of Webster student life when we were there, managing the apartments when Mathias was an RA.

What has your life journey looked like?

Mathias: I grew up 25 miles southeast of St. Louis in Freeburg, Illinois. I currently live just outside Washington, D.C., in Silver Spring, Maryland. I’ve traveled to 54 countries, worked in more than 40 and lived for a year in Japan and Azerbaijan, with stateside stops in New York and Atlanta.

Emma: I grew up in Georgia and then moved to Webster for college. After college, Mathias and I moved around a lot – Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York and a two-year stint in Azerbaijan as Peace Corps volunteers. For the last 10 years, we’ve been in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

How do you spend your free time?

Mathias: I spend most of my time with Emma and our three kids: Virgil, 9, Essa, 7 and Langton, 5. I play trivia on Wednesday nights and watch almost every Cardinals game from our living room. 

Emma: We have three elementary school kids, so free time is mostly spent having adventures as a family. My son and I rock climb three times a week and if I can get a spare moment, I love to read.