Jennifer Maguire is a Doyon Foundation alumna, as well as a current student. She earned her bachelor’s of arts degree in English with double minors in applied business and Alaska Native studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in 2004. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program at the UAF School of Management and will complete her master’s of business administration in December 2013.
Jennifer shared that she has experienced setbacks throughout the years, but many turned out to be positive.
“About two years ago I reached a plateau in my career and realized that I needed to go back to school in order to increase my earning power. I have a daughter who will be starting college in about a year and as a single mother, I knew I needed to earn more money in order to help her pay for school. I decided to pursue a graduate degree and now I have three more classes until I earn my MBA! Sometimes when one door closes, another one opens,” Jennifer says.
In 2011, Jennifer received the competitive Morris Thompson business scholarship, which “really helped me pay for my first year of graduate school. If I didn’t get that scholarship, I would ha
ve dropped my classes. I am very grateful for that scholarship, which has helped me get where I am today,” she says.
When asked for her advice for current students, Jennifer says, “Go to every class. You don’t have to be Einstein to succeed in school. If you simply go to every class and do the work to the best of your ability, you will succeed!”
Jennifer has served the people of Interior Alaska for more than 20 years through her work at various Native organizations in Fairbanks. She was promoted to CEO of the Interior Regional Housing Authority (IRHA) in September 2012, after working in grants and compliance at IRHA since July 2011. Prior to that, she worked in the legal department at Doyon, Limited and is a graduate of the Doyon Management Training program. Other work experience includes human resources intern and recruiter at Doyon, and grant writer at Tanana Chiefs Conference.
Jennifer is also active in the community. She served as a Doyon Foundation board member from 2005-2008, and currently serves as a mentor “big sister” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing and spending time with my family.
Jennifer is originally from Allakaket and has lived all over Alaska, as her parents were teachers. She is the daughter of Cora and the late Bob Maguire, and the granddaughter of Johnson and the late Bertha Moses of Allakaket and the late Hugh and Irene Maguire of Lake Chelan, Wash. She has a younger sister, Gail; a younger brother, Jeremy; and a 16-year-old daughter, Navonne.