RECognition: Jessica Chu, Instructional Classes
Recreation's monthly series to celebrate our staff
By Shawn Cyr
Assistant Marketing Director
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to do a backflip, Jessica Chu is who you need to talk to.
Students-turned-gymnasts have been going head-over-heels in Jessica’s gymnastics classes since she joined Recreation’s Instructional Classes in the fall of 2023.
“Gymnastics is not an easy sport, and most students who sign up for our classes have never done it before,” Jessica says. “I love meeting new people every session, and I cherish the moments when a student finally hits a vertical handstand or lands their first front flip — they usually end up surprising themselves because they’re so much more capable than they realize.”
A fourth-year in Earl Warren College who graduates in June of 2025 with a degree in molecular and cell biology, Jessica says her most popular class is the Adult Beginner session, where students learn the basics of gymnastics, including handstands, cartwheels, and front flips. Alongside fellow instructor Lauren Greene, she also teaches Adult Intermediate class and a new offering called Backflip Bootcamp, which focuses on mastering a standing back tuck.
“By the end of the final day of one of our Backlip Bootcamp sessions, every single one of our students had flipped a back tuck — and some were landing it by themselves,” Jessica says. “Everyone was so encouraging of each other and cheering each other on. It was an amazing experience because it was a completely new skill for everyone in that class, and I was so proud of everyone and what they had accomplished in such a short amount of time.”
Gymnastics has been a major part of Jessica’s life since kindergarten; she was a high-level competitive gymnast when she retired at the end of high school. Being an instructor with REC allowed her to continue her involvement in the sport.
“I was so excited to learn that UCSD has a gymnastics facility on campus — the South Balcony at Main Gym — and now I’m up at the gym almost every day,” Jessica says.
“I fell in love with coaching.”
And UCSD has fallen in love with her. Linh-An Ho, Assistant Director of REC Classes and Youth Programs, says Jessica has become integral in fostering the welcoming culture of the campus gymnastics community.
“Whether leading our youth classes and Knock Around Camp groups or coming up with new, fun classes to help our adult students meet their goals, Jessica strives to be every participant's personal cheerleader, always encouraging them and celebrating their accomplishments, in the gym and out,” Linh-An says. “Her leadership and infectious personality have been such a boost for our gymnastics classes, and we're lucky to have her with us for a few more years.”
After graduation, Jessica will spend two years as a research assistant at Sanford Burnham Prebys studying the proteasome and protein degradation pathways. She then plans to pursue an MD-PhD to become a physician and researcher. Because she's staying in San Diego, she'll continue her role as a REC gymnastics instructor.
For now, you can catch her working in her research lab, studying at Geisel Library, or spending her hard-to-come-by free time creating desserts with her friends, working out at RIMAC, or writing short fiction stories.
So if you’ve ever thought about landing that elusive backflip, the window to learn from Jessica is still open for a bit longer — before she cartwheels onto her next chapter.
