Jay C. Chung

University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

“Former military interpreter turned startup investor. My north star is to become a competent and compassionate leader.”

Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a Lakers basketball fan, who interned for the Clippers during the season when the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers was vetoed and he ended up playing for the Clippers. But I loved my internship, and Chris Paul was such a classy guy.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts in History

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: SparkLabs, Venture Investment Manager

What makes Los Angeles such a great place to earn an MBA? For students of business, Los Angeles (LA) is a fascinating place to pursue an MBA due to its close proximity and access to various industries. From entertainment powerhouses (Disney, Warner Bros.) and financial services (Capital Group, TCW Group) to the Silicon Beach tech scene (Riot Games, Snap), LA is home to a wide number of companies that play an influential role in the world.

As a graduate student, who may have more options to explore outside the traditional campus dining halls and enjoys consuming “MBA beverages”, what is incredible about LA is that it is home to fascinating culinary hotspots. These include Koreatown, Little Tokyo and Chinatown, not to mention the wealth of tremendous taco joints and local staples like In-N-Out. (For further exploration of the LA culinary scene, I would recommend the documentary “City of Gold” about the food critic Jonathan Gold.)

Personally, the fact that LA is home to 12 professional sports teams (Basketball: Lakers, Clippers, Sparks; Baseball: Dodgers, Angels; American Football: Chargers, Rams; Soccer: Galaxy, LAFC, Angel City; Ice Hockey: Kings, Ducks) in addition to strong collegiate teams in USC (go Trojans!) and UCLA makes feel like I am in sports heaven. Oh, and the World Cup (2026) and the Olympics (2028) are also coming to town soon.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of USC Marshall’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? My grandfather had started a successful business, and his influence have led to my long-standing interest in entrepreneurship. My previous job was also in venture capital investing, and it was important for me to be at a school that encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit. While many business schools have their own versions of resource centers regarding venture activities, I gravitated towards USC Marshall due to the mix of academic programs and club activities that were available here.

Academically, Marshall provides an Entrepreneurship and Venture Management concentration, guided by the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. This center enables students to take classes like the Venture Lab that allows students to source an actual startup and present an investment case to the school. It also includes the Seminar in Entrepreneurship taught by Paul Orfalea – the founder of Kinko’s and a proud Marshall alum.

The presence of a student-led Entrepreneur and Venture Management Association also seemed to complement such academic experience by providing an avenue to network with like-minded individuals at the school. The fact that Marshall had nurtured successful entrepreneurs such as Marc Benioff (Salesforce) and Brandon Beck, and Marc Merrill (Riot Games) also provided added inspiration for me to pursue my MBA studies at Marshall.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at USC Marshall? I am most excited by USC Marshall’s signature PRIME program, an experiential project-based seminar about the global context of business. For our class, the program will pair students with companies from Asia (Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand) and Europe (United Kingdom, Germany) to work on actual projects, and it culminates in an international trip to these companies’ home countries. As the program is mandatory for all first-year students, it should be a tremendous learning (and bonding) experience for all of us.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized that USC Marshall was the right program for you? Why? My most positive impression of USC Marshall during the recruitment (application) process came during the interview. My interviewer was very sincere, and instantly created a psychological safe space for me to openly discuss my passions and aspirations. Towards the end of the interview, when he asked me about my definition of success, I ended up quoting the famed basketball coach John Wooden (from “the other school,” UCLA), but still received a very positive nod. That was the moment I felt that I would have a welcoming community at Marshall.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I served in the Republic of Korea Air Force for 3 years as a foreign liaison aide and interpreter. During my service, I had the privilege to be a part of the executive branch, a group of hand-picked staff officers who assist the Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking general of the Air Force. I was tasked with assisting the general’s interactions with foreign counterparts, while drafting briefs on international affairs. The time I spent at headquarters was one of the defining highlights early in my career. To this day, I have a lot of affection for the people I met while serving and for the organization that embraced me as one of their own.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? One of the primary motivations for me to pursue an MBA was to gain the foundational skills in business, such as finance, accounting, marketing, operations, and management. I want to be comfortable enough in these topics, so that I may interact more effectively with people from different functional areas in a workplace setting. I’d also like for these two years to be a time for me to meet new friends and be inspired to think differently. And much like Benioff, Beck and Merrill before me, I hope I may leave this school with the confidence to one day start and successfully lead a business of my own.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2026: THE ‘DO ANYTHING, BE ANYONE’ COHORT