For Dublin graduate Jessica (Ditmore) Mudd, family is everything — when she’s not working, she can most likely be found spending time with her husband and young daughter, or traveling to Dublin to support her three nephews at band competitions or sporting events.
Mudd graduated from Dublin High School in 2011 and went to Ranger College. She ended up deciding college was not for her, and worked a few odd jobs in town before finding a position at Dublin National Bank working in new accounts.
Mudd worked at Dublin National Bank for two years, until 2019 when her husband Michael got a job in Waxahachie and the couple relocated to Midlothian.
There, Mudd found a job at an insurance company called Parker Loss Consultants as a claims intake specialist. The company works with clients nationwide, and Mudd is the first person to communicate with clients when they’re reporting loss or damage.
Mudd typically deals with several claims per day. “If something happens, [clients] call me, I set up a claim, and then eventually we find them an adjuster,” she said. “I like that I’m the first person they get to talk to and work them through it.”
She enjoys her coworkers and the family oriented culture of her workplace, and plans to stay with the company. “I’d like to eventually be an examiner,” she said. “[At my company] there’s a few steps you can take if you want to work your way up. That is my ultimate goal, so I can work from home and spend time with my baby.”
When Mudd is not working, she’s usually spending time with her husband and their daughter Mieca, 3. “I like to hang out with my kiddo, and family is the biggest part of my day,” Mudd said. “As soon as I get off work, especially when it’s nice, we just change clothes, and we’re back outside for a few hours.”
Mudd met her husband Michael Mudd when they were both students at Dublin. On March 31, they will have been together for 17 years.
Mudd’s sisters and many of her friends still live in Dublin, and Mudd and her family often travel there from Venus, where they have lived since 2022. “We’re down in Dublin pretty much every weekend,” she said. “I want to spend time with my family and friends.”
Her three nephews are very involved in extracurriculars in Dublin, and Mudd loves to support them. “I try to make it to any game or any band competition I can for them,” she said. “They’re definitely a very big part of my life.”
Throughout her life, Mudd has found inspiration in her faith and her parents, Billy and Martha Ditmore. Her father passed away about 3 years ago. “My parents have always been the pusher of life, and they pretty much got me through anything that I needed to get through,” she said. “Without my dad, it has been an adjustment, but my mom has been there for all of us even more than we thought could even be possible. I would say my parents and God [are my greatest inspirations] for sure.”
Mudd’s advice to Dublin students is to not take life too seriously. “I thought high school was so serious and college was going to be so much — and I got into college and realized, I don’t know why I stressed so much about high school!” she said. “Enjoy high school while you can, enjoy not having a job instead of stressing.”
— Where Are They Now chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.