Stephanie Hickman Boyse is a 1990 graduate from Michigan State University College of Communication Arts and Sciences advertising program. She served as CEO of Brazeway for 27 years and currently serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Jebbee, the career and career preparedness social networking app.
I arrived at Michigan State without a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. Like so many students, I knew I had potential, but I hadn’t yet found a direction that truly excited me. I switched majors three times — not because I was indecisive, but because MSU gave me the space and flexibility to explore a multitude of paths. I wanted to make the most of my college experience, so I utilized internships to give me hands-on experience in different industries.
That flexibility was life-changing. It helped me realize that passion isn’t always something you’re born knowing — it’s something you discover by doing. That understanding has guided every chapter of my professional life: from an advertising student, to working in corporate America, to stepping into the CEO role at my family’s manufacturing business, and now to launching a tech startup.
Today, I’m the founder of Jebbee, a career exploration app designed to help high school and college students connect their interests to real-world pathways. More than half of high schoolers graduate without knowing what they want to do next, and almost 50% of college students end up feeling like they picked the wrong major. That doesn’t have to be the case. Students deserve tools that help them navigate those big questions earlier — especially students from communities like mine.
I grew up in Adrian, Michigan — a rural, tight-knit town where hard work is a given but opportunities can be limited. I saw so much untapped potential in my peers, who often didn’t know what was possible simply because they hadn’t been exposed to it. That’s the gap I want to close with Jebbee. We built it around a simple but powerful idea: find your passion, find your path.
Coming back to MSU recently to speak to students about my journey and launching Jebbee felt like a full-circle moment. This is where I learned how to ask big questions, try new things and embrace the idea that your career doesn’t have to follow a straight line. My time at the university truly helped me find my passion, and my path. MSU gave me the freedom and courage to evolve — and the confidence to build something that could help others do the same.
