University of Missouri - Saint Louis

09/08/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/08/2026 13:36

English alum Jami Hirsch uses writing skills to advance mission of Flance Early Learning Center

English alum Jami Hirsch uses writing skills to advance mission of Flance Early Learning Center

by Burk Krohe | Sep 8, 2026

In her role as director of development and communications, Hirsch shapes the brand of the center and has helped raise more than $750,000 annually.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Jami Hirsch developed her storytelling skills as a member of University Marketing and Communications. Now, as director of development and communications at Flance Early Learning Center in St. Louis, Hirsch shares how the organization positively impacts the community by breaking down barriers to quality early childhood education. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

Reading and writing were constant companions for Jami Hirsch during her childhood in rural St. Jacob, Illinois. She spent her idle hours immersing herself in far-off worlds and creating her own stories.

Hirsch even landed her first writing job in elementary school when her grandmother hired her to write a poem for her friend's birthday. However, as she got older, the encouragement she received as an avid storyteller in her youth began to fade. Others discouraged her from pursuing writing professionally. They continually asked the same question: "What are you going to do with an English degree?"

Well, it turns out Hirsch would forge a successful career advancing the missions of several St. Louis area institutions through her skilled storytelling.

Hirsch honed her narrative craft as a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, earning a BLS - with duel focuses in English and psychology - and an MA in English. She continued to develop her writing as a staff member with University Marketing and Communications. Now, as director of development and communications at Flance Early Learning Center in St. Louis, she shapes the center's brand, communicates its positive impact on the community and fundraises more than $750,000 annually.

"Words always were essential to me, but they're really the building blocks of everything," she said. "Communication is everything. Being able to write and speak well and interpret what other people are trying to say is an essential skill. It touches everything - marketing, PR, business in general."

After graduating high school, Hirsch moved to Nashville on a whim and spent four years there before heading west to work as a background actor in California.

"I ended up back in St. Louis because it was like, 'Oh my goodness, I am in my 20s. I haven't been to school yet. I've got to figure this out,'" she said. "I needed a place that I could afford to focus on school and work part time and a campus that I could be on as an adult."

UMSL proved to be the perfect environment for someone returning to the classroom. While Hirsch always had an interest in English, she felt pulled in several other directions, as well. It led her to create a unique course of study to satisfy her curiosity.

"I was pretty stubborn," she said. "I banged my head against the wall for a while, trying to fit into one of the boxes and realized none of these are just right for me. I needed to design my own thing, so a Bachelor of Liberal Studies let me do that by essentially having two majors - English and psychology."

Hirsch seized every opportunity that came her way at UMSL. As an undergraduate, she conducted research and worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She earned another teaching assistantship as a master's student in the Department of English. Toward the end of the program, she was tapped to do some marketing writing as a graduate assistant.

That work caught the attention of University Marketing and Communications, and after graduating in 2015, Hirsch moved into a role as public relations writer with the department. She shared the triumphs of UMSL community members in UMSL Daily and UMSL Magazine before a promotion to manager of Creative Services.

However, as Hirsch started a family, she found it difficult to be away from her children. She stepped away from UMSL to freelance as a copywriter while caring for her family. After four years, she decided to return to the workforce full-time. A previous tour of Flance Early Learning Center led her fortuitously to an open position as communications manager.

"I've had the most wonderful experience here," she said. "My youngest child just finished here, so my own children got me in the door. But I very much am staying for everybody else's children."

Flance provides care and education to children from 6 weeks old to 6 years old, but Hirsch stresses that it is far more than a typical daycare or pre-K. The nonprofit operates on a mixed-income model, designed to remove barriers to quality early childhood education for those who need it most. Seventy percent of families pay little to no fees to attend.

"We are a community resource and a hub of connection, not just for the children we serve, but for their whole family," Hirsch said. "We were very intentionally placed just north of downtown close to where the old Pruitt-Igoe complex used to be, specifically on the belief that all children deserve the same great start in life. But that start is about so much more than ABCs and 123s. Our basic foundation is kindergarten readiness for every student, but Flance provides a great deal more than that."

A variety of wraparound services are built into the center's administration. Every child has access to free play therapy as well as weekly music and art therapy sessions. The center also partners with more than 20 local organizations to provide free dental, medical and vision services throughout the year. To fight food insecurity, a year-round food pantry is open to the community, and Operation Food Search oversees a weekly mobile food market for grocery shopping.

The organization's commitment to providing a quality educational foundation to every child, no matter their family's means, has fueled Hirsch's passion for the job. Her role as director of development and communications is two-pronged. She strives to illustrate Flance's successes and the importance of early childhood education. She is simultaneously responsible for raising $750,000 of its annual $3.8 million budget.

It's no small number, but Hirsch achieves that lofty goal by connecting Flance's mission to community members throughout the St. Louis region.

"Every child, regardless of where they come from, deserves the same quality loving foundation, and that foundation matters," she said. "What we do here is help children be ready for kindergarten, and we help educate families about what it means to advocate for their children in an educational space. So that starts here, and it continues on."

She believes there's a direct line between the kids she sees every day and the UMSL graduates who walk across the stage at commencement. It's been meaningful to see both ends of the spectrum.

"I get to use my creativity to do good, and that is everything," Hirsch said. "I couldn't ask for more than that, and Flance has allowed me to do that while being with my children when they were small. I was able to find my adult self at UMSL, so I will love UMSL forever. I will also love Flance forever because of what it's given me and what it's opened my eyes to. The two are just absolutely, intricately connected for me."

Hirsch is proof that an English degree can lead to a meaningful, successful career, and she has some advice for UMSL students on the fence about studying a creative field.

"Be open-minded, of course, but don't let anyone else tell you what your major is supposed to be," she said. "You know what it's supposed to be. Then choose to do something with it. Don't sit back and say, 'Oh gosh, I can't. I don't know what to do with this. I can't do anything with it.' Yes, you can. Yes, you can if you want to, and if you're putting yourself out in the world and open to opportunities."

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