young adulthood 

After the society parties and excitement of the "season" Jackie found her time spent at Vassar dull. She still managed to maintain the highest marks possible, focusing on history, arts, and culture. Instead of spending her third year at Vassar, she applied to Smith College's foreign study program, and spent her Junior year in France.

The change of atmosphere suited Jackie well, enriching her knowledge of French art and history, while she perfected her proficiency in the language. Upon returning to the states Jackie made the somewhat difficult decision to not go back to Vassar, even though it meant being further away from her father in New York.

In 1950 she furthered her education at George Washington University, closer to her mother and step-father's Virginia estate. She was working on her degree when she decided to enter Vogue magazines annual Prix de Paris competition amongst 1,279 other applicants.

Jackie won the competition, work as a junior editor spending six months in New York City and six months in Paris. Her headstrong attitude was clear the first day of work when she went to the personnel office and quit. Jackie saw this environment, surrounded hundreds of women as the last place she wanted to be, especially if she wanted to find a suitable man to marry.

After graduating from college Jackie was living off of a meager monthly allowance from her father, and was in dire need of a job. With her stepfather's connections Jackie was able to land a job with the Washington Times-Herald, as an Inquiring Photographer.

Jackie learned quick and was out on the streets in January of 1952 being paid a modest $25 a week. 

Soon after Jackie was engaged to a family friend, John Husted. Socially prominent he would have made a fine husband but Jackie had bigger dreams for herself, and they didn't include being a housewife.

Her job may not have been very intellectually demanding, but like most things Jackie did she did it well. She prepared creative questions to ask passerby's so the answers were always interesting.

Some of her questions included "Do you think a wife should let her husband think he is smarter then she is?" or "Chaucer (author of the Canterbury Tales) said that what most women desire is power of their men. Do you think this is true?"

And two more ominous questions...

"Which first lady would you have most like to be?" and "Which prominent person's death affected you the most?"

Jackie's job allowed her to mingle with all sorts of important Washington political figures as well. This included the young and attractive senator, John Kennedy.