Meet the founder
Jade Walters is the career strategist and creative behind The Ninth Semester.
A TEDx speaker, consultant, and former Employer Branding Lead at WayUp, Jade brings both lived experience and industry insight to the work. She's the person your audience wants to hear from; on stage, in the inbox, and across every campaign.
Who’s in our community:
300K+
students & recent graduates reached
320.6M
watch hours on TikTok
76%
aged 18–24
35M+
video views across platforms
12K+
leads driven for early career programs
80%
U.S.-based
gen z in the workplace
tech & the future of work
entrepreneurship
creator economy
building a life in your 20s
solo travel
content topics include:
Collaborations
Helping the next generation thrive in work and life.
The Ninth Semester is an award-winning Gen Z career platform supporting over 300,000 students and recent grads with practical career resources, job leads, and transparent advice they can actually use.
We partner with mission-aligned brands, universities, and media to connect with the next generation of talent through content, campaigns, and community.
explore a few featured projects below
What we create ⇩
Our content helps Gen Z turn ambition into action.
We offer trusted, relatable, and results-oriented:
Short and long form vlogs on the future of work, tech, travel, and building a life in your 20s as a first-gen professional
Step-by-step career and application guides
Blog content on job hunting, personal branding, creator entrepreneurship, and professional growth
Career workshops and virtual events for students and grads
Social-first content on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram
Candid essays and post-grad reflections through our Substack
Featured Partnerships
Teach for America
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2026 Teach for America Fellowship Apps Announcement
Too many talented recent grads think Teach For America is only for people who want to be career teachers. They don't realize the skills gained in TFA translate directly to leadership roles across every industry. Jade partnered with TFA to raise awareness of the program and encourage young people to join, while sharing why she sees teaching as a powerful springboard into their chosen profession.
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Leaning on interpersonal storytelling, Jade shares the career journey of her best friend Rachael’s path from elementary teacher to 4th-year medical school student at Howard University. Throughout the video, Jade leans on connecting the dots between classroom skills used and career skills gained.
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Yahoo @ Cannes Lions
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Yahoo Scout @ Cannes Lions 2026
What I Scouted @ Cannes is a daily dispatch series on the Yahoo brand LinkedIn during Cannes Lions. Yahoo is your guide to the Internet and for one day at Cannes Lions, Jade was their guide to Cannes
As their on-the-ground correspondent (powered by Yahoo Scout!) I captured the moments, trends, and sharp cultural insights that matter most, sharing need-to-know cultural intelligence from the industry's most influential week.
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In collaboration with Yahoo’s designer, Jade turned her jam-packed schedule at Cannes - a packing list, her pre-conference solo date, day 1 panel with LinkedIn, and side quests in between - into a guide to Cannes Lions as a first-timer inspiring Gen Z and marketers afar to attend next year!
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Virgin Voyages
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Virgin Voyages x TikTok’s Inaugural Creator Cruise
Jade was invited aboard Creator Voyage — a 3-night sailing April 19–22, 2026, departing Miami to Bimini, Bahamas, with hundreds of creators onboard and tasked with documenting the experience authentically and creating content that makes my audience wish they were there.
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Assigned the lifestyle and luxury pillar, Jade showcases her first time cruise experience on Virgin Voyages with her best friend, sharing all of the amenities and activities onboard.
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TED
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TEDNext 2025 Creator Cohort
Joining a group of six creators spanning industries and identities, but sharing one thing in common: each had the option to follow a traditional career path, but chose instead to forge their own unconventional journey—braving entrepreneurship to build communities that thrive on curiosity, ambition, and change. Follow them along as they attend TEDNext.
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Jade teamed up with TED’s marketing team as a creator marketing consultant to share insights on crafting their inaugural creator program for TEDNext, with a strong LinkedIn-first approach. Jade also attended the conference as a member of the cohort to share her experience
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Canva
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The Rise of the “5-9 Influencer”
Jade served as a Subject Matter Expert and represented Canva in mass-market campaigns, focusing on press opps, including broadcast, to spark a cultural conversation about how traditional career paths and personal branding are changing and to position Canva as the tool unlocking this new era of career climbing.
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Leaning on her experience balancing a 9-5 and 5-9 entrepreneurship, Jade shares her top actionable tips for building a 6-figure content creation business through a video, carousel, and paid media interviews with Forbes and Ebony.
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K18
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‘Real People, Real Results’ LinkedIn campaign (career edition)
K18 worked with Jade to highlight her and her expertise as a career coach. First, they sent send her to the salon for a K18REPAIR salon service and then partnered on a digital mentorship (powered by K18) giveaway for 2 of her followers! When you feel your best, you do your best – boosting confidence in yourself and your career. 😊
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In this multi-part partnership, Jade hosted a mentorship call giveaway for 2 early career professionals while sharing how beauty and haircare play a major role in her professional confidence, along with the people and products that contribute to her haircare regiment! This was K18’s first LinkedIn campaign, and it was well received.
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Some of our past partners
Click each logo to view the partnership
other campaigns include:
Guest speaking ⇩⇩⇩
Keynotes
From national conferences to corporate events, Jade inspires audiences with candid stories and strategic career guidance. Her talks empower students and young professionals to lead with confidence and rewrite the rules.
Panels
As a dynamic panelist, Jade brings authenticity, clarity, and industry experience to conversations on career building, personal branding, and Gen Z in the workplace.
Webinars + Workshops
Interactive sessions designed for students, educators, and teams. Jade leads practical, high-energy workshops on topics like job search strategy, personal storytelling, and building a profitable personal brand.
@theninthsemester
Find us online ➯
Let’s work together.
Have an opportunity, event, or campaign in mind?
Let’s talk.
