Omaha senior graduating after raising $100,000 for university endowment

LAWRENCE -- Jessica Palimenio has every teenage girl's dream job: She gets paid to talk on the telephone.

But if you eavesdrop on her phone conversations, it looks as though this savvy Kansas University Endowment Association Call Center veteran is just chatting with friends. She asks University of Kansas alumni about their jobs and family, and she tells them what's new at KU. Then she asks them to support KU with a financial gift.

A graduating senior from Omaha, Neb., majoring in journalism, Palimenio is the first call-center employee to raise more than $100,000, winning her a spot in the honorary Platinum Jayhawk Calling Society. This year alone, she has secured 353 pledges for a total of $33,000, helping the call center meet its $1 million goal for the third year in a row.

How does she manage to win over people she's pulled away from "The Sopranos"? Lindsay Byer, assistant director of annual giving at KU Endowment, said it's Palimenio's warmth and pleasant demeanor coupled with her confidence and ability to handle any challenge she encounters on the phone, such as the alumnus who was sure the FBI was listening to their conversation.

"Jessica has a natural leadership presence about her," said Byer. "She's been doing it so long, she's developed a sense of who she's talking with."

Palimenio said she is proud to raise money for the university.

"You hear a lot about the budget crisis all over campus," she said. "This is my way of helping out."

When she graduates, Palimenio will take with her life skills she might not have developed while holding a more traditional student job.

"You form great communication skills," she said. She's already used those skills while working as a reporter for the University Daily Kansan, KU's student newspaper, and KUJH, the university's student television station.

"I'm going to miss everyone at the call center," she said.

Palimenio is the daughter of Albert and Valerie Palimenio of Omaha.