Jennifer Chen is a second year Full-Time MBA student at The Paul Merage School of Business.  Her focus is on Human Resources/Organizational Behavior and Strategy.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Management from the University of California, Irvine in 2005. 

Prior to attending the Paul Merage School of Business, Jennifer worked in the Corporate Finance department at Hewitt Associates for three years.  At Hewitt, she managed the financial portfolio of 200+ clients, and served as the pivotal link between the finance department and business.  She trained consultants, account executives and other financial associates on GAAP and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, procedures and tools.  She realized the importance of human capital and became interested in HR consulting during her time at Hewitt.  She is pursuing an MBA to develop a deeper knowledge in Organizational Behavior and Strategy in order to transition into the client interfacing roles of HR consulting.

Jennifer chose the Merage program because of the innovative culture and the program’s dedication to each student’s career path.  She believes that the personalized attention from the MBA Career Center and faculty enriches her career development.  The small class size provides endless leadership opportunities, fosters a close-knit learning environment and offers a supportive community of fellow classmates, alumni and mentors.  The small size of the school coupled with the support of her classmates allow her to take leadership roles and to make a difference in the on-campus organizations she is involved in.  She is President of the Human Resources/Organizational Behavior Club, VP Internal for the Merage Consulting Association, and VP for the Merage Wine Club (Grapevine).  

Outside of school, Jennifer has a deep passion for traveling, cooking and photography.   She has visited 12 countries in the past three years and hopes to learn more about different cultures and international cuisine.   She also enjoys reading, wine tasting and trying new restaurants.

This past summer, Jennifer worked as a Leadership Development Program Intern with AT&T in Texas.