JJ grew up in the small town of East Allegheny, Pennsylvania. She graduated from East Allegheny High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was the captain of the varsity soccer team her senior year and earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. She also attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she was inspired to join the FBI in her senior year after hearing a lecture made by Rossi. JJ began working as a liaison at the Virginian Federal Building be