Jay Chen

WHAT IS YOUR AREA OF SERVICE, AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING?

Jay is an intelligence officer and a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy. Jay has been in for around ten years, and he was sent overseas in the fight against ISIS and was stationed in Kuwait.

Jay was away on this mission for around a year, between training, boots on the ground, and demobilization.

WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY CONSIST OF?

Jay has a family of a wife, Karen, two sons, Lincoln and Carver, and a dog.

While Jay was away for a year, Karen was incredibly pressured to run the family’s real estate company and raise two boys.

But without Jay there, he was worried that his oldest wasn’t getting the proper support to help guide his foundation in math.

LET’S SET THE STAGE. WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE COMMUNITY?

Jay was not born in California, but much of his life took place in the SGV, so he considers himself a native. Jay attended HLPUSD public schools from 5th grade and up. He then went to college at Harvard University.

Jay went to Harvard with a Navel ROTC scholarship. However, after trying it out, Jay decided to be an average college student instead after trying it out. After college, Jay joined the Navel Reserves.

After college, Jay traveled a little bit but found his way back to SGV because he knew he wanted to help his community.

After seeing what kind of effect a strong and committed School board can make, even on the individual level, Jay decided to run in 2007 to be on the Hacienda La Puente Unified Schools board. He served for two terms on the board. After serving Hacienda La Puente, Unified Jay ran to be on the Board of Trustees for Mt. San Antonio Community College (Mt. SAC) and was recently elected for a second term.

Jay is also very active with the Democratic party. Jay decided to help Obama run for office in 2008 after they reached out to elected officials.

Jay also has his own real estate company, where he also manages residential and commercial properties in the SGV and LA.

WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN ENTERING THE MILITARY?

In high school, Jay’s father encouraged Jay into the ROTC program after Jay brought it up. He was also a young man when he considered the military, and because of that, it was attractive to him.

There was also the idea, according to Jay, that there are not many Asian people in the military because there is a perception that Asians are “not American enough.” Jay wanted to branch out and change that perception.

What Jay loved about the military was that he could work with new people he probably wouldn’t have met or worked with. His whole military experience opened his eyes to see an entire realm of life.

WHAT DOES AN INTEL OFFICER DO?

Intel officers take the raw information from the field and turn that information into something that can be used for the troops on the ground. They also need to be in the same time zone and area because they need to be able to give briefs at any time.

Even though Jay was on base, it still had creature comforts such as restaurants and places to shop. It was mindblowing.

WHAT’S YOUR JOB WHEN YOU’RE NOT DEPLOYED?

Jay manages and invests in real estate. He works with Mt. SAC community college. They recently passed a 700 thousand dollar bond to upgrade their facilities. Mt. Sack is an old building that needs updates.

SGV III

1. Old Pasadena: Jay used to live in Old Pasadena. It’s turned around because of development in the area.

2. Mt. Sac. Jays College. Many community events are happening all the time, such as giant stuffed animals, farmland with animals, farmer’s markets, and a lot more.

3. Yakia. A Japanese restaurant in the area that is of higher quality in a quiet area.