Jillian Buenger

University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

“My goal in everything I do is to leave it better than I found it.“

Fun fact about yourself: I collect teapots! I started looking for them with my grandma when I was younger. At this point, I have too many to count…

Hometown: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

High School: Sun Prairie High School

Majors: Finance and Risk Management Insurance

Minors: Business Law and Accounting

Favorite Business Courses: IBUS3090- Solving Wicked Cross-Cultural Problems and BLAW3062- Contract Law and Corporate Regulation

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

Leadership Roles:

Carlson Undergraduate Student Body Vice President

Lead the Undergraduate Student Body Government of 35+ individuals in the creation of initiatives to improve the student body experience through our core pillars of operation, Student Voice, Enabling Authenticity, and Strategic Partnerships.
Partner with faculty to cultivate Business Board initiatives and events for the student body.
Plan, execute, and chair all Executive Team and General Board meetings throughout the academic year to provide feedback and guidance to each of our teams.

Delegate on Curriculum and Career Development Team on Carlson’s Undergraduate Student Government

Collaborate with team and faculty to implement policy and career development initiatives for the undergraduate student body.

Carlson Crew Leader

Foster first-year students through 1:1 meetings; support through inquiries and questions, and offer feedback on homework, improving classroom outcomes in participation.

Carlson Ambassador

Represent the Carlson School by leading personalized tours, presenting information sessions, assisting with donor and alumni visits, and sitting on informational panels.

Carlson Crew Coordinator

Lead and aid 50+ Carlson Teaching Assistants with weekly training, inquiries, and program development to enable TAs to effectively assist groups of 13-15 first-year students in the Carlson freshman experience.

Teaching Assistant for HRIR 3021 – Human Capital Management

Apply knowledge of course materials to student questions, graded written assignments, and communicated with faculty and students regularly.

Community Work:

University of Minnesota Undergraduate Advisory Board Member
Student Representative on The Core Council at the Carlson School of Management
Undergraduate Faculty and Advisory Board Student Representative at The Carlson School of Management

Awards:

President’s Student Leadership and Service Award Spring 2024
Dean’s List – Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
Carlson School Community Leadership Award – Spring 2024

Where have you interned during your college career?

Maguire Agency Brokerage Firm – Intern and Part-time Associate – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Travelers Insurance – Underwriting Professional Development Program; Financial Leadership Development Program- St. Paul, Minnesota

Caliber Law LLC – Intern- Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Where will you be working after graduation? UCHealth as a Strategic Analyst in Aurora, Colorado

Who is your favorite business professor? Eric White is my favorite business professor. I had him for several of my early finance classes and then more of my advanced finance classes more recently. The way he approaches teaching and student interaction is so unique and really important in my opinion. You can tell he truly cares about each one of his students and their reason for being in class and being at the Carlson School. I think he is one of the big reasons that I knew for sure I wanted a career in strategy and financial planning. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from him. If I can be half as caring and thoughtful in my actions as a business professional throughout my future career, I will feel very lucky.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Your ability to make a difference and enact change is much bigger than you think. The ripple effect of your actions can be wide! Looking back now as a senior about to graduate, I can honestly say that I am truly in awe to see all of the moments and opportunities I had to make an impact or lasting difference for others around me. Yes, you are just one person, but you are capable of so much.

The content, perspectives, learned skills, and lived experiences during my time at Carlson have provided me with a tremendous knowledge base that I am so grateful for. Moreover, I have been able to utilize so many opportunities to sit alongside staff and faculty in discussions on curriculum and initiatives; create tools for students in my leadership roles; echo student voices as the Student Body Vice President, and consult with companies in Greece to reconstruct their practice to better serve immigrants to Greece. It is truly humbling to see what you are truly capable of when you are passionate about what you do. I am so grateful for this lesson: it is a gift to have the opportunity and privilege to help others and have fun doing it!

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I think I would set more time aside early in my undergraduate career to really understand the ‘why’ behind the things I choose to involve myself in. I feel like when I first started as a business student, I was overly concerned with going for experiences, internships, or opportunities that were not directly related to my goals or what I wanted to end up doing at the end of my four years. It was a very quantity versus quality mindset. Eventually, when I stepped back and started looking at the ‘why’ behind each of the items I was involved in, I was able to see very clearly where my passions were and what options served me best. I think adapting the quality over quantity mindset was so helpful and allowed me to get back to giving 110% to the things that I truly valued and cared about.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? Several of my professors have prompted us to utilize AI when creating drafts for presentations, to generate graphs via data we’ve collected, or just for general brainstorming. It seems like overall it is being recognized as a tool to help aid students in learning, rather than a replacement for base mechanisms. To be candid, I feel like I am one of the few students who was a bit late to the game with the utilization of AI. I use it pretty sparingly in my day-to-day life, but I do use it to help with brainstorming, organizing, and optimizing the order of my research and content. My favorite way of using AI is to make my weekly schedule based on how much time I estimate each task to take – a huge time saver!

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I would have to say my Community Leader Business Week Award is my proudest achievement. It is less about the award itself and more about the situation surrounding the time I received the honor. The award itself has nominations based on peer voting, which to me is really special because the process for receiving it is largely based on who the student body feels deserves it.

I was going through a pretty rough time physically and mentally during my junior year at Carlson, and I was feeling frustrated that it was impacting my ability to put my best foot forward in my student organizations and student jobs that I had so much passion and drive for. At a point that I would characterize as one of my lowest, I received a nomination for this Community Leader Award, and it really was a proud internal moment for me that even when I wasn’t feeling myself, I was still able to make a difference and be a positive influence for my friends and peers. I was so grateful and proud at that moment.

Which classmate do you most admire? Genna Rynders. She is not only one of my closest friends but also one of my biggest role models and inspirations. I swear, if everyone has 24 hours in the day, somehow she has 25. She is an incredibly hard worker, ridiculously kind, knowledgeable, and driven. I consider it a great privilege to have the chance to work with her and also be her friend. We became close friends during Managerial Accounting, a class we struggled through together. Each day, she would come in with a smile on her face and we would leave laughing about how if we could get our balance sheets to balance we could do anything the world threw at us—and I think she was right!

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank my brother Harrison. He has always been my best friend and biggest supporter throughout my entire life. We used to give each other a hard time as kids, but never once did I not trust that he would be there for me and stand up for me if I ever needed it. Even when I was going through really tough times and was feeling so lost, he was always there for me and so proud of everything I did (and made sure I knew it, which I have never been able to truly thank him for). He is always there for me to lean on, be my authentic self with, and he has never for one moment judged me for who I am. He has taught me so much and kept me going so many times. I really don’t think I would be half the person that I am today without him.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

I want to go to law school at some point in my career. I have always been so interested in the way the law functions and shapes our society.
I would love to be a speaker at a business conference at some point down the road when I am established in my field of work and study.

What made Jillian such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“I first met Jillian Buenger three years ago when she became my TA for Design Your Life, a class designed to help students align their college experience with their goals, interests, and values. From day one, Jillian’s bubbly disposition and genuine enthusiasm for the course content inspired immediate buy-in from the students within the class. As a new instructor, she made my job easy, and I quickly realized that her unique blend of humble leadership, deep care for others, and intentionality set her apart in a highly talented student body. Throughout that semester and in the following years, I saw her truly lean into the principles of our class as she designed her college experience with the goal of positively impacting others wherever possible.

She started this on a small scale through the one-on-one meetings she would host with students in our class. These mentorship conversations always centered on a student’s unique needs as Jillian’s knack for building personal connections and willingness to be vulnerable gave new students space to process their transition to college. Around this same time, she broadened her impact by joining our undergraduate student government, quickly rising to Vice President. In this role, I saw her evolve into a true servant leader, applying the same intentionality she used in individual mentorship meetings to advocate tirelessly for the diverse needs of the student population.

At the Carlson School, we tell students to “come as you are, and leave even greater” because we value their unique identities and perspectives while striving to support them as they grow into the best version of themselves. Jillian not only exemplifies this motto herself, but she has worked tirelessly to provide this support for countless students through her mentoring, advocacy, and leadership. Whether shaping policies as Vice President or mentoring students individually as a TA, Jillian has positively influenced thousands of Carlson students and fostered an environment where they can thrive. This wide-ranging impact will be felt long after she graduates and is what makes her such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025.”

Zain Olson
Student Transition Coordinator and Career Coach

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