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Jaydyn Isiminger Shares Her Story of Changing Course and Becoming D1 Staff Photographer
The Pivot is a podcast featuring NFL alumni Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder that showcases athletes and celebrities adversity and how they “pivoted” through their life. This show is gaining popularity and steam quickly, much like the career of Jaydyn Isiminger in photography through the years.
At just 22, Jaydyn’s resume and line of work is quite impressive. Millions of people have seen her photography by now, whether it is her shots from Mercyhurst Prep athletic events, Penn State Athletics, or now for the University of Missouri athletic department.
However, it has not been an easy journey for Jaydyn. After graduating from Union City Area High School in 2018, she ventured off to Erie to attend Penn State Behrend. After one year as a Behrend Lion, she decided to spend her second year of college attending classes online through Penn State World Campus.
Along those two years, she discovered that being a freelance photographer was not fulfilling her enough as a creative. Previously an animal science major who was passionate about dairy farming because of her upbringing, she decided that photojournalism was a career and area or study that suited her much better.
After a few years photographing around Erie and Crawford County, she landed an opportunity with Penn State Athletics that changed her life. Isiminger eventually became a photography intern for the football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball teams during her final two years of college.
“Penn State gave me photo access, relationships, and most importantly family. My time at Penn State did not feel long enough. While working with some of the best athletes in the country to receive a degree from such a well known university, I could not see myself anywhere else. With my major, towards senior year we were all close friends because we all worked in athletics and all the photo interns I worked with turned into family so I am so thankful for everyone I crossed paths with.”
Interestingly, being a photography intern allowed her to photograph now NFL player, Jesse Luketa, from high school all the way to his last moments as a Penn Stater. It’s seeing dreams come true like Jesse’s that make her job so rewarding.
While being a Penn State student brought some of the best days of her life, there were challenges that occurred throughout her senior year. These challenges for a long time were not something Jaydyn liked to speak about publicly, but the pivot she made is nothing short of extraordinary.
After Penn State football’s opening win in 2021 over the Wisconsin Badgers, Isiminger started to notice something was going on with how she was feeling. She was feeling ill and discovered that she was pregnant. After initially hiding it from most people for several months, she finally revealed to everyone what she had been going through that season.
“Senior year was hard because I did finish my photo internships with football and both basketball teams, had to finish my degree, and I went through my pregnancy alone. I truly look back and do not know how I did it. All of my friends and some of the coaching staff of multiple teams were so supportive by checking up on me, so it helped when I had a community around me because of being two and a half hours away from home. I halted my graduation until August because my son, Jaxon, was born on May 3, 2022. He is the absolute best thing that has happened because God has a plan no matter if I thought things would have gone differently.”
After graduating from Penn State with a degree in photojournalism, a minor in sports studies, and a certificate in sports studies, she accepted an opportunity in Columbia, Missouri as a staff photographer for the University of Missouri Tigers (Mizzou Athletics). She’s been in the role just under a month and has already had the opportunity to photograph different recruits’ times on campus, practices, special events, and game days.
This position she hopes will allow her to grow in the creative space, but more importantly eventually work in athletics administration or in an athletic communications office.
“Working in athletics is fun but it because very demanding. I strive on having a work/life balance: therefore, getting my masters in Athlete Development from University of Florida will give me the access to work more with traditional hours and not running around every day and weekend.”
This degree and role change is something she anticipates happening down the road, so for now, she’s focusing on doing her part to become the best creative and photographer she can be. Many people have helped and mentored her to make her dream become a reality.
Some of her mentors include Penn State Football director of social media Riley Joslin and Jeff and Renee Root from Mercyhurst Prep football. They helped make opportunities like photographing Miles Sanders summer football camps this summer as well as her newest endeavor at Mizzou possible.
Her roots will always stem from Erie County, the place she got her start. However, her time in Centre County and now all the way in Missouri are vital as she strives to make the athletic space a career for many years to come.
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