Jennifer (Ye Won) Kim

Ivey Business School at Western University

“A creative soul passionate about problem-solving and engaging audience experiences (as I am an MC!).”

Hometown: Daegu, South Korea

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have worked at PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and two FIFA Women’s World Cups. You can spot me in some of the highlight footage!

Undergraduate School and Major: Western Ontario University, Political Science and Philosophy

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Real Matters, Product Manager / Genuine K Entertainment, Creative Director (This is my own business!)

How has the case method enriched your learning? I love how my learning comes with context. The case method helps me apply theories in the real-world settings, and I appreciate how real and complex these business issues are.

Aside from classmates and cases, what part of the school’s MBA programming led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? As a Western University alumna, I was already familiar with the prestige and rigour of Ivey programs. Some of my closest friends and mentors were Ivey grads, and they inspired me to pursue my MBA. After witnessing how supportive they were as friends and how successful they were as business professionals, I knew the Ivey program worked. I also love the fact that the program is only one year long!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am proud of my career successes in the diversity of roles and industries I have worked in. I am a big believer of transferrable skills. They helped me not only break into unfamiliar spaces, but also continue learning and strive for success. In one of my previous roles, I led incident management, where I worked with technical minds to triage issues and translated progress for business leads. My transferrable skills helped me navigate issues, create structure in ambiguity, and work with key stakeholders in high-stress situations effectively.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: Because the Ivey MBA is only one year long, the first four months of the program are quite demanding in terms of workload and diversity of subjects. Contribution is very important as we are being trained to offer clear insights as business leaders. I am proud of my contribution and fluency in new topics I was not familiar.

Where is your favorite hang-out in London (Ontario)? Why do you (or your classmates) gravitate there? Reset Social Café is a cute little spot appropriate for all kinds of chats! This is where I met some of my favourite Ivey people,  and this café is also extremely welcoming and accessible for people with special needs – especially those needing to use wheels.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you enjoyed and would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? Michelle Obama’s Becoming is a great read, but I listened to the audiobook version that was read by the author herself—it was so real and engaging. Even though she does not have an MBA, I could feel her drive and motivation through her writing and speaking. I recommend this book to all prospective MBAs who want to be inspired and/or who may be debating to invest further in themselves.

What did you do during the application process that enabled you to get accepted into Ivey? Speaking to Ivey alumni during the application process was extremely helpful as they could clearly explain the program expectations, learnings from their time, and experiences they gained because of Ivey. I reflected on what I wanted from my own Ivey experience, and I was honest and open about my goals in my application. The Ivey Admissions team assured me that Ivey offered the right resources to help me achieve my goals.

DON’T MISS: MEET MORE STUDENTS IN IVEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2023 & LEARN WHAT MAKES THE IVEY MBA EXPERIENCE SPECIAL