We all know Penn State boasts one of the largest and most impressive alumni in the country – Jamee Lubkemann is no exception. As a former Penn State student, THON volunteer and graduate of the College of Communications, Jamee has held a variety of positions and worked her way up the corporate ladder to become Vice President of Direct Deposits at American Express today. Read on to find out more about her current position, the challenges she’s faced and advice she has for young women looking to pursue professional careers in the future.
HC: What brought you to Penn State?
JL: In looking for schools, I knew I was really interested in going to a large university with a large student body. At the time, I was also interested in journalism, so was looking for a school that had a strong program within its communication colleges. I applied to several universities and once I heard from all of them, my parents made appointments at all of the schools for me to go and visit. Penn State was the first place I went and within ten minutes of being on campus, I called my mom and told her to cancel all of the other appointments – I just knew that it was the place for me.
HC: What’s one thing you miss most about the university?
JL: THON – it holds such a huge place in my heart. I first was involved as a fundraiser and dancer for my sorority, then I ultimately ended up on the Overall Committee my senior year. I think the philanthropy, the event, and the dedication of the thousands of students that participate to raise millions of dollars every year speaks to the type of students and community that Penn State fosters.
HC: What degree did you graduate with and what types of jobs were you pursuing after graduation?
JL: I graduated with a degree in public relations (from the College of Communications). Initially, I was pursuing roles at PR firms. I knew prior to the time I graduated that I didn’t want to do public relations but, at the time, career services at Penn State was not what it is now, so I was unable to obtain interviews for marketing roles.
HC: Where are you now and how did you get there?
JL: Currently, I am the Vice President of Direct Deposits at American Express. To start from the beginning, I did land a role at a PR firm (for which I worked approximately six weeks) and then moved on to Citi where I was in marketing for non pre-approved credit cards. After about a year and a half, I wanted something more meaty. So I moved to Philip Morris where I was an operations manager and worked closely with the marketing teams. It was there that I realized that if I wanted to really excel in marketing, I needed to get further training because I had no formal business training in undergrad. So, after two and a half years at Philip Morris, I went to pursue my MBA at the Wharton School at UPenn where I majored in marketing as well as human resource and organizational management (change management).
Upon graduating from Wharton, I spent a year in an MBA rotational program at Omnicom group and ultimately landed a manager role at American Express in July of 2006. This is also where I have been ever since. Initially, I held marketing roles in Global Merchant Services, which meant dealing with lifecycle marketing and card acceptance marketing. I was then promoted to Director and moved to Global Corporate Payments where I held a strategy role promotion card acceptance to corporate clients. In 2011, I obtained my second director role within our Direct Deposits group where I managed all acquisition marketing for the American Express Direct Deposits products. Since that time, I was promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Analytics within the portfolio, and most recently, was given the entire responsibility of the Direct Deposits business in Q4 of 2014.
HC: Looking back, what is one mistake you made that you would warn others to avoid?
JL: I thought that I would forever be stuck in PR and never get out – which was ridiculous. My advice is to realize that your first job is not going to shape your career forever. If you don’t like it, it is the only one that you are able to land or whatever the situation, leverage it as an experience and a stepping stone until you can move on to the next. You create your own path and your first job does not define who you are or where you will be 6 months from now, let alone forever.
HC: Have you ever felt intimidated or patronized in the workplace due to your gender?
JL: This is a touchy subject for me, not because I don’t think that gender bias exists in the work place, but I think sometimes, we as women spend too much time complaining about it and not enough time is spent coming up with solutions and addressing it. To answer your question, though, yes, it has happened to me. I have been called ‘sweetheart’ in big meetings, and I have had much worse occur in front of colleagues. Instead of complaining, I confronted the individual and I made him think about it in terms that he could relate to. The person in question has four daughters, all of who are either in college or working full time. I asked him how he would feel if one of them came to him and told him that they were called things like ‘sweetheart,’ or worse, how would he feel? That put an end to his comments!
HC: What’s one piece of advice you would give to young women looking to pursue professional careers and hold esteemed positions in today’s job market?
JL: Believe in yourself. I think that is the one thing that many women have trouble with. We question whether we are qualified for a job, can we do the job, if we get the job, did we do the job well enough, or do we even deserve it? I think we can be our own harshest critics. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. You are qualified. You can do it. You will do it well. And you DO deserve it.