Our Alumni Spotlight series will be an ongoing feature, highlighting former student-athletes and catching up on where their journeys have taken them after graduation. Natalie Jenkins, former Georgia Women’s Tennis student-athlete, graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and later a master’s of Accounting in 2010.
Can you tell us about your current career and what you are doing now?
I am the Director of Controls Assurance and Advisory – SOX for Bacardi. We are responsible for assessing the controls that mitigate financial statement risk for the company. In addition, we advise the business as they assess other business related risks through the performance of internal audits and reviews.
How did your experience as a student-athlete prepare you for your professional career?
My experience as a student-athlete helped prepare me tremendously. I learned how to be a great team player, how to work with people that have varying views and ideas, how to be an effective leader, and how to multitask. In addition, being a student-athlete taught me discipline, how to deal with adversity, and how to perform at a high level over a long period of time (which helped me greatly when I had to transition into a non-sports world where I had to consistently work long hours on multiple projects simultaneously).
What was the most important lesson you learned from balancing academics, athletics, and your personal life during college?
I learned how to integrate work, life and athletics so they all co-exist in my life effectively. In order to do this, I had to learn how to manage all aspects of my life almost like their own “projects” to make sure enough time was devoted to each pillar.
What is one thing you wish you had known about life after sports before you graduated?
I wish I had known that life after sports isn’t going anywhere. Play sports as long as you can.
Looking back, what advice would you give to current student-athletes who are trying to navigate life after college and sport?
I would tell student-athletes to lean on your training from sports and implement it in your career. Remain disciplined and still make working out a priority in your life no matter what is going on because it impacts other parts of your life (i.e. mental health, etc.). Learn how to channel your competitive nature in the career path you chose. Set small goals along the way to a larger milestone.
When you think about your time as a Bulldog, what is one moment that stands out the most?
The entire 2007 season! We started lower in the rankings than we wanted to be with the goal of being one of the top teams in the country. We ended up winning the SEC tournament that year and also made it to #1 in the rankings before the NCAA tournament. I loved that year because we were such a team and we did everything together. The whole year was incredible, and I would relive it over and over again if I could.
