Success Story: Jodi Chen

What was your first experience like at POW?

My first experience at POW, it was kind of chaotic because we didn’t know what we were doing. But we also knew that we needed this type of org at SFSU. There was never a women business org at the undergraduate level. We needed it.

There were three of us. We had a whole plan. Jess was the powerhouse, Brenda was the inspiration, and I was the back end. Brenda was so passionate about the things she talked about. And I liked the technology. We got turned down many times until we found sponsors - you need professor sponsors. So when we finally got it; they believed in our vision. I knew we were going to change something at SFSU. It was a great experience from the start. Super chaotic. Are we doing this right? What if nobody likes us? It was definitely a wild, but great experience. 


What was your favorite thing about POW? 

The people, definitely. Everyone that joined POW believed in our vision: to uplift women and create change at SFSU. Even as a female empowerment club, we don’t restrict people from joining - men can join, too. Because we are a commuter school, no one sees us. Every time the recruiter comes to SFSU, it’s sales or retail. There’s so much more to us than that. I think the people are what drove POW to become what it is. The members and everyone put so much work into it.


What was one of your most favorite memories of POW?

I think my most favorite memory was our launch. Brenda was the best at public speaking at our events. However, on the launch day she texted me and said, “Hey I’m not going to make it. You will have to do it.” I was scared shitless. Omg, I did not prepare for this. We had a room full of people. It was my first time being in front of so many people at the same time. I was literally scared shitless. Everyone could just see the change happening. I really conquered my fears that day.


What do you do for a living? How do you apply the things that we’ve learned during the workshops to your job?

I am currently at Dropbox, and my position is in Marketing Operations. It’s a really good role - you learn and you teach a lot of processes and technologies. 

I think all of the workshops that we had were on how to overcome your fear. For example, when we do a work presentation, you’re the only person. You’re the one that knows how to do it. So even if you think you messed up on the presentation, you probably didn’t. You were just in your head. 

Everything you do at work is different than at school. In college, you don’t necessarily know what business etiquette is, but in the workshops, you’ll learn actual things to help you in the professional world. Attending the workshops taught me how to be more confident and how to create things.


What accomplishments are you most proud of while being in POW?

​A lot of things. I was creating the website, making sure it flowed right. Working with our leaders, since we were in the beginning process of creating the process. I was making sure we had things organized: finding the vendor, planning some of our events, making sure the rooms were ready, and that we had enough resources for each event. A lot went into the planning process. 

Being able to do something like that, to contribute to this type of change. My biggest accomplishment is seeing that it’s still alive a few years later.


What is one goal you accomplished while being in POW?

​The biggest goal was just trying to get more members for the next semester, because we started the year I was leaving. The first semester was all about planning and getting it together. The second semester was the launch. I wanted to make sure that Brenda was set up for success, even after I left.

What is your ideal lifestyle/end goal?

At this point, I want to just accelerate in my career, travel more, relax. It’s always going to change. You think about your goals right now, you are graduating college. What’s your next goal? You want a job, you want to make X amount of money, you want to take care of your family. Once you get to that goal, you want to change it. Your late 20’s is when you have to grind the most. There’s a lot of achieving, doing more with my job. Doing better. Those are my goals right now.