WHO SHE IS: Administrative Assistant, Principal Gifts and Planned Giving, Wharton External Affairs

YEARS AT PENN: About a year.

WHAT SHE DOES: Mastnjak supports the director and several major gifts officers in Wharton’s External Affairs department. She schedules meetings, makes travel arrangements, gathers information, helps plan events and also contributes to a department newsletter.

WHY PENN?: When she and her husband moved to Philadelphia, Mastnjak—who had previously worked a variety of jobs, from Banana Republic clerk to coffeehouse barista—specifically targeted jobs at Penn because of the education benefits provided. “I knew it would be a place where I could get my Master’s degree for free,” she said. “I purposely tried to get a job here.”

THE PLAN: Mastnjak has taken a couple courses, and though she hasn’t yet enrolled in a program, she does know she would like to pursue a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. “I like getting to know people from different cultures,” she said. “I just think it’s really interesting.”