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Hi, my name is Jordan Jennings and I’m a project manager at fivestar*. I’ve worked at fivestar for almost a decade now – I started 8 years ago – 9 years if you count my internship between my junior and senior year. My internship almost perfectly previewed my role for years to come – I came on as a kind of a swiss army knife for the fivestar* team – helping do business analysis, quality assurance, and IT work all while pushing projects forward. I attained my PMP (Project Management Professional) a little over a year ago – just in time to turn 30 (😬). I’m excited to take my PM work to the next level and stay on top of best practices so we can stay efficient, well managed, and as stress free as possible.
The opportunity! I am the first second-generation fivestar* employee, my dad was the director of operations so I had known Lou and Dave since I was about 10 years old. While in school I spent a ton of time looking for PM internship opportunities but at the time there simply weren’t any good options. Enter: fivestar: I had a ton of feelers out but none of them were a good fit so we reached out to fivestar* and they gave me the opportunity to get a hands on experience learning how to manage projects and operations. After graduating, I began my search to formally start my career as a project manager, but before I had the opportunity to go elsewhere, fivestar* called and offered a full time position.
The reason I wanted to join fivestar* was my interest in the projects, the people, and the organization. I learned a ton during my internship, so I wanted the opportunity to continue that learning. Plus, Dave and Lou care about the company and all of the people in it. Everything they do helps create an awesome culture, from sharing breakfast every week to our annual chili cookoff, fivestar* is just a great place to work and I’m happy to be here!
So – as part of the project management team, we’re kind of the engine that keeps things running behind the scenes. I am running check-in meetings with project teams, keeping on top of project status so that teams aren’t stressed out. There’s a lot of stress in the tech industry so I’ve made it my goal to make managing and eliminating it a priority. Being a good project manager is about building relationships and supporting people while simultaneously making sure that everything is running smoothly and that things are on-track.
There’s a concept that’s integral to project management as a whole and I think that perfectly describes what we do, the triple constraint – SCOPE, BUDGET, SCHEDULE. Project management seeks to keep them in alignment with what you agreed to with your client. There’s so much back and forth and communication it’s easy for things to get lost in the details – it’s my job to make sure that nothing does!
I consider myself a man-child, I’ve always been a gamer and that certainly hasn’t changed. I was an athlete in high school but haven’t been playing many team sports in recent years. I love being outdoors – golfing, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, etc, if it’s outside I’m interested and probably going to have a good time doing it. I’m a huge golf fan and make sure plan at least one vacation in during the year just to golf. Especially during COVID, I’ve realized the importance of getting out and getting fresh air. I also love to cook and spend time experimenting with different flavors in the kitchen.
I think probably that I’m the first second-generation FSD employee. Also - I am addicted to Reese’s. I have been eating one six-pack of holiday Reese’s cups per week. Let this also be a very strong hint to all of those who need a favor in the future – a little Reese’s goes a long way.
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