Jackson Schmidtke

Jackson is currently a renewable energy product portfolio manager at Xcel Energy, a US utility company that operates in eight states. He manages all aspects of a portfolio of eight renewable energy products for more than 150,000 residential and commercial customers.

Prior to that, he worked in program management and administration for international and study abroad students at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. His interest in international education stemmed from his undergraduate study abroad experience at the University of Winchester. That experience in the UK higher education system led him to pursue his MSc at York in Innovation, Leadership, and Management. 

After studying broadcast journalism at UW-Eau Claire, he started his career in the media industry as a television reporter and then commercial videographer. While a very non-traditional career path, it’s provided a wide array of experiences and knowledge that can translate across industries.

Since graduating online from York, Jackson visited campus for the first time in 2022 to see first hand how special the campus and city are. He quickly became a fan of York’s cozy pubs and campus’ abundant bird life. He did not spot the famous Long Boi, much to his disappointment. He believes Higher Education is an investment that lasts a lifetime and can never be taken away. Jackson is passionate about expanding access to higher education to anyone that seeks it.  He is excited to work to help the York for Life staff and alumni create opportunities for the York experience to impact graduates for life, especially those that may never set foot on campus.