Heritage Association Spotlight: Jennifer Biehn

The Heritage Association Spotlight was created to profile USC student-athlete alumni who give back to the University.

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Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, Jennifer Biehn grew up going to Arizona State football games, but always had a soft spot for USC. Little did Jennifer know that her dream school would become a reality.

"I grew up in a family of big sports fans," she says. "We'd make the road trip every time ASU played USC. From the first moment I stepped on campus, I knew USC was my dream school."

At 16 years old, while competing at a junior golf tournament, Jennifer was introduced to Cathy Bright, USC Women's Golf head coach at the time, who would later offer her a full athletic scholarship to USC and the opportunity to round-out the top 5 players on the team. The goal? To continue as one of the top golf programs in the country and win national titles. "To this day, it's still surreal. I've never taken for granted the huge opportunity it was to attend USC on a full-ride to play golf. It was a game-changer" Jennifer says.

From 1992 to 1995, Jennifer competed successfully as part of the USC Women's Golf team and went on to be named a third team All-American in 1994 and a second team All-American in 1995. Her senior year, she secured the 1995 Pac-10 individual championship.

"We all worked very hard as student-athletes," Jennifer said. "My success on the team came from the support I had from my coaches, my teammates and hard work."

To Jennifer, her teammates were her family.

"I think that close bond has lasted throughout our lives," she said. "We were part of a special sorority, if you will, and we all have this as student-athletes. Those special memories last forever and provide a lot of laughter when my teammates and I get together."

As for the current women's golf program, Jennifer says she "could not be more proud of the success of both the team and of the phenomenal job that head coach, Andrea Gaston, has done since she began coaching at USC 22 years ago."

Today, Jennifer serves as partner of DHR International's Sports, Education, and Technology Practice Groups in Denver and still calls on her experience and lessons learned as a student-athlete.

"As I get older and further down the road in my professional career, I appreciate the opportunity I had at USC more and more every day. I keep my Trojan Golf experience on my professional bio because it's the best ice-breaker ever. I'll walk into a big meeting in an elegant board room and invariably, the first question I get is, 'Wow, you played golf at USC – tell us about that!'"

"The rigor of being a student-athlete carries over to your routine in daily business," she says. "I am in the executive search business and because I know what it means to be a student-athlete, the intensity and commitment of it and time required, I gravitate toward recruiting candidates who are former collegiate athletes. I already understand the kind of person they are in terms of drive, commitment and work ethic."

Though family and work keep her busy in Colorado, Jennifer believes it is her individual duty to give back to the university which gave her so much.

"I think every student-athlete has a responsibility to give back to USC in return for the opportunities they were given and the value of being a lifetime member of the Trojan Family. It was an honor to be a USC student-athlete. For now, my goal is to pay my scholarship back. I look forward to checking that box and setting the bar higher."

Outside of her philanthropic efforts, Jennifer finds ways to overcome geographical challenges and maintain her involvement with the current Women's Golf program at USC.

"Even though Denver is my home now, I stay involved with Women's Golf and USC as much as I possibly can. For homecoming this year, I helped Coach Gaston organize a great Women's Golf reunion and hope it will be an annual event! In addition to my work on the CORE Council for the USC Alumni Association, I look forward to taking on the role as a Heritage Association team captain."

When convenient, Jennifer says she would like to do more to energize all Women's Golf alums and ensure that they play a bigger role as supporters and fans of the team.

"At the end of the day, I have stayed involved and encourage others to follow suit because I truly love the University. What's more, I really treasure being part of the Trojan Athletic Fund, and I hope student-athletes don't underestimate how important that common bond is."

Fun Facts
Favorite place on campus.
"Heritage Hall. It was like our home base!"

Most embarrassing moment as a student-athlete.
"I fell down a flight of stairs at the Stanford Golf Tournament with my golf clubs and full rain gear and umbrellas. As we call it in skiing—it was a yard sale! It was the golf version of a yard sale."

Best piece of career advice for females.
"I still play golf and use it for business. It's a tool that you can use the rest of your life. I highly recommend that every woman learn how to play golf. It can be a critical leg up in business. There are no glass ceilings on the golf course!"

USC in one sentence.
"We don't just want to win, we expect to win."

If you are a member of the USC student-athlete alumni community, or would like more information about the Heritage Association, please click here!

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Heritage Association Spotlight: Jennifer Biehn

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