This article is part of a seven-part series celebrating Niagara College’s Alumni of Excellence – the highest honour bestowed upon NC alumni. The series features outstanding graduates who were also nominees for the 2025 Ontario Premier’s Awards. Jessica Compton (Correctional Worker, 2001) was recognized in the Community Advancement category.
Jessica Compton has transformed her lived experiences into a powerful mission to support at-risk youth and advocating for mental health and addiction recovery. Since earning her diploma in Correctional Worker in 2001 at NC, she has turned personal challenges including childhood trauma, addiction, and incarceration, into empathy, guidance, and inspiration for others. Today, she is the Founder of Tree of Stars, an organization that promotes healing through storytelling, music, and community connection, while continuing her work as an Educational Assistant.
Though she graduated in 2001, it took ten years before Compton could fully apply her diploma due to a criminal record that required a pardon. During that time, she devoted herself to volunteer work with at-risk youth, channeling her own experiences into mentorship and support.
Having survived kidnapping, years of abuse, homelessness, and incarceration, Compton’s commitment to youth stems from having once been one herself. She spent much of her childhood moving between foster homes, navigating life as a “wandering soul.” Diagnosed with ADHD at eight and experiencing suicidal ideation by age nine, she faced various challenges. By age 21, after completing high school following three months in rehab, she was ready to pursue a career where her lived experience could make a difference.
Compton enrolled in college with $30 from her father and found a supportive community among students and teachers who became her mentors. Her confidence and determination helped her secure opportunities even with a criminal record. She volunteered with a local organization to help set up programs providing food, toiletries, and essentials to homeless and at-risk youth, learning to assess and improve services and programs for the community she understood firsthand.
Her professional journey as a Child and Youth Worker and later as an Educational Assistant allowed her to extend her advocacy into classrooms and residential programs. She provides emotional, academic, and life-skills support to adolescents and young adults, helping them navigate challenges and build resilience. She also supports young children with learning disabilities, promoting inclusion and fostering social and academic growth.
In 2017, Compton founded Tree of Stars, using storytelling, journal writing, music, and meditation to promote mental health and addiction recovery. The organization offers an online support group, a weekly Instagram Live series, and an online library, giving people tools to share their stories and connect with others. She continues to expand her impact through speaking engagements and is currently writing a memoir to be released in 2026 followed by a year-long tour, offering another avenue for others to find healing and inspiration.
Her dedication and impact have been recognized through numerous awards, including:
- 2025 Illuminating Excellence – 5 Year YMCA Hamilton, Burlington, Brantford Award
- 2019 YWCA Women in Distinction Award (Hamilton)
- 2019 Hamilton Hero, Woman Abuse Working Group (WAWG)
- 2019 Recognition from MPP Monique Taylor, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, for tackling mental health and addiction stigma
- 2018 Canadian Homelessness Film Festival – Jessica’s Story
- 2018 Roots of Empathy Recognition for fostering empathy in children and adults
- 2018 Scope Award, Mental Health Rights Coalition
- 2001 Lighthouse Niagara Award of Recognition for volunteer service with at-risk youth
“Recognition is others noticing what a difference you are making in the world by saying thank you and advocating through the work you are doing,” Compton said.
Over the past two decades, Jessica Compton has demonstrated resilience, courage, and dedication. She has turned her challenges into a platform for hope, mentorship, and empowerment, helping at-risk youth and those in recovery to find their voice and thrive.
