About Me
Hello!
My name is Jennifer Fine. I’m an extroverted future communications professional looking for an exciting career in account management at an advertising agency. I don’t shy away from hard work and I credit my determination to reach goals I set for myself to my success. I’ve dealt with many challenges in life, but found that I’ve realized my true self when I was faced with adversity.
I dropped out of college after completing two years at Northern Illinois University to move to California with my then boyfriend. Although our relationship didn’t last, my love for the west coast did, and I was determined to make a life for myself 2,000 miles away from the only home, friends, and family I’ve ever known. Without a bachelors degree and no plans to go back to school, I let myself become absorbed by the restaurant industry. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the adrenaline experienced working a busy cocktailing shift on a Saturday night, or the comradery shared between coworkers from all ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds. Together we made a beautiful little rag-tag family, one that I desperately needed and was happy to be a part of. But I always craved more.
I wanted to become fully integrated into the background structure of the restaurant I worked at. Guest satisfaction was my main priority and I felt a personal responsibility to everyone who entered the restaurant to have an experience that I would want to have. If there was a process that could be improved upon to heighten guest experience or to make service run more smoothly, I wanted to be involved in that process plan development. Why and what were always at the forefront of my mind- Why are we doing things this way, and what can we do to make it better. This type of thinking propelled me from service staff to management.
I’m thankful for my time as a restaurant manager. I had the opportunity to work for some of the most inspiring owners who saw potential in a young girl with a Midwest work ethic and decided to take a chance. If it wasn’t for these opportunities and the coaching from some great mentors, I wouldn’t have recognized that I have a gift that extends beyond the restaurant industry. I knew that if I wanted to live up to my full potential I needed to get back into school and finish my degree.
I’m not a traditional student by any means. I’ve gone to five different colleges, I’m older than my peers, I’m married, and I’m going to have my first child this December. But I’ve never let any of these factors get in the way of completing my education, even when I had my most recent set back a year ago, when I moved from the Bay Area to Orange County and had to transfer universities (from my fourth school attended to my fifth – and final! – school). Most of the classes I completed there wouldn’t apply towards major courses here, essentially resulting in wasted time (and money). That meant I still had an additional 2 years of school left to complete after already having 4.5 years worth completed. I was going to be a sixth year senior. Instead of wallowing in self pity, I got hungrier. I wasn’t going to let life knock me down and not get back up.
Life laughed at me again after I set my plan for my final two years of school when I found out I was pregnant at the end of my first semester at my new school. But my pregnancy only gave me a renewed sense of purpose. I wasn’t just doing this for me now, I was doing this for the little girl growing inside of me, so that one day she can look at her mother and see that the sacrifices made and the hard work put in pays off.
My ultimate goal is to take my ability to adapt, desire to streamline processes, and enjoyment of belonging to a connected community, and translate it into a career. Life is ever changing and I’ve learned to roll with the punches gracefully.