Jessamy first heard of conservation in the book 101 Career Alternatives for Teachers, a few years after she had already graduated with a degree in biochemistry. Conservation sounded like the perfect way to combine her love of art, science, and problem solving. She took courses in art history, studio art, and languages at a community college, while interning and working as a science tutor and jewelry maker. She earned her master's in conservation of Works on paper from Northumbria University in England in 2009. Before coming to The Huntington, she worked as a conservator in Scotland and England.