Marketing Program Specialist, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Jesionek graduated cum laude in Fall 2013 with two undergraduate degrees – Global Business and Marketing. She delivered the commencement address that year. While an undergraduate, she was a member of UT Dallas’ women’s varsity golf team, vice president of Phi Beta Lambda and a member of the advisory council for the Davidson Management Honors Program. She has been a member of the Delta Epsilon Iota honor society and was secretary of the Dean’s Council for Jindal School. After graduation, she stayed at JSOM to complete two more degrees – an MS/Healthcare Management and an MBA. She lives in suburban Dallas.
Tell us the highlights of your professional career. What are your proudest achievements?
I am proud of how far I have come in a short amount of time. I worked in insurance for a little over two years, and I really wanted to get my foot in the door of the healthcare industry. An opportunity as a marketing intern at UT Southwestern came along, and I left my brokerage career and took a chance. My gamble definitely paid off, and I earned a full-time offer after a few months. I was recruited to manage marketing and communications related projects on a brand-new project management team that was hand-picked by the COO of the Health System to work on projects that improve the business operations side of UT Southwestern.
What brought you to UT Dallas?
It’s funny because I initially didn’t want to attend UT Dallas because it was 15 minutes away from my parents’ house, and I wanted to have a more traditional college experience that my friends were getting at bigger schools. I applied because my mom made me (thanks, Mom!) and I was awarded a full academic scholarship along with additional stipends and housing money. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, and looking back, I would make that choice again with no hesitation.
What is your favorite UT Dallas memory?
My favorite memories involve the traveling I did with friends from Davidson Management Honors Program. Our cohort was the first group to go on the Washington, D.C./New York City spring break trip in March 2012, and then two of my best friends and I studied abroad in Barcelona in the summer of 2012. One time we were on the beach and got excited to hear other people speaking English and they asked us where we were from and we said Dallas. We got to talking and found out that they were UT Dallas alumni. We even got a picture whooshing on the beach.
Who was your favorite professor and/or what was your favorite class and why?
From my undergrad experience, it was definitely Matt Polze with Business Law. Polze is an awesome professor, mentor and friend, and he made the class engaging and fun yet challenging and informative. In my graduate studies, it was Jeff Hicks, who taught Management and Organizational Consulting. Instead of having textbooks and exams, we were all assigned a group and a client, and we worked as consultants to complete a semester-long project for companies in the area. My client was UT Southwestern, and my partner and I worked to complete a qualitative and quantitative cost-recovery model for the Center of Translational Medicine, as well as revamped their cost and pricing specs. It was great, hands-on experience that taught so much more than a textbook could.
What’s the best advice you have received?
The best advice I received was to take advantage of every opportunity. I worked hard in high school to have a well-rounded resume that included athletics, arts, academics and everything in between. When I got to UT Dallas, I thought I could finally relax but I realized I had to do it all over again in order to get a good job in the future. I did absolutely everything. I applied for every scholarship opportunity and took part in every recommended activity that came my way. It truly broadened my horizons and taught me a lot about time management and planning, and about myself. Most of all, it gave me so much experience and an abundance of topics to talk about, allowing me to connect with virtually anyone I met or interviewed with. If you take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, I promise you will never be disappointed for having learned or experienced something new.
What advice do you have for students hoping to succeed in the business world?
The best advice I can give to a student is fake it till you make it. As a young professional in the business world, I had (and still have!) moments of insecurity where I worried that someone would assume I was incompetent or inexperienced, but I quickly realized that the only person who knows truly how little or how much you know is yourself. As far as the other people in the room are concerned, you may as well be a genius at whatever it is. It’s up to you to keep up that belief, and soon enough, it will actually come true. You have to remember that everyone starts somewhere, so don’t be intimidated by where you are. Just continue working toward where you want to be.
What makes an effective leader?
An effective leader is someone who has a plan for the future, yet the ability to be in the present moment. It’s an ally who is compassionate and advocates for your future success, and cares about your personal and professional well-being. People look to a leader the most when they need guidance, so a leader needs to be able to confidently make difficult decisions and provide instruction when necessary. Most importantly, a leader needs to be grounded and approachable, and focus on making a difference by reaching the goal as a group.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy being active. I started going to Pure Barre a few months ago and I am addicted. I grew up riding horses competitively, and I also love dogs and cats; I have a cat named Jinxie, and I volunteer at a local cat rescue. I like reading, DIY projects and traveling. I recently took a trip to Mexico with my boyfriend, and we are going to Japan and Poland later in the year.
