Jayden Mougin was a first-generation college student when she attended Purdue and earned her degree in Human Resource Development in 2021. Today, just a few years later, she’s living in Tampa and working as an attorney for the Florida Office of the Attorney General. We asked her about the journey from studying human resources to taking the bar exam and how her Purdue education helped guide her career choices.
Q: How did you discover the Human Resource Development (HRD) program at Purdue, and why did you decide to make it your major?
Mougin: The program was in its very early stages when I was there, and my class was one of the earliest groups of graduates. I started in general management in Krannert, and I was taking all of these math-based classes like calculus, economics and accounting. I knew I wanted to do something business-related but I was missing the people aspect, so I was looking for other things. When I came across the HRD program, I saw it still had the math classes but it also had a lot of classes about interacting with people and building teams. It felt more collaborative and allowed me to learn a wider variety of things.
How did you find Purdue?
I grew up in Indiana, so I always knew about Purdue. Neither of my parents went to college, so I was the first one, and I have four siblings. I remember visiting Purdue and absolutely loving it—the way campus was laid out, the architecture. It was very gray and pretty cold that day, so it wasn’t beautiful weather, but I still remember it being exciting without being overwhelming.
Did you have a specific career goal or vision you were chasing? How did you realize that law school was the next right step for you?
I went into college knowing I wanted to go into business—no specific company or role. I loved that the HRD program had so many different classes, and I took two or three law classes through the program. The employment law class specifically was a very small group with maybe only 12 students. I loved the professor and the materials. That class was the highlight of my day. I realized I was more excited about that class than any others and thought I might like taking that type of class full time.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about walking the same path as you?
My youngest brother is a senior in high school right now, so I’ve been helping him with his applications. I’m trying not to influence him to go to Purdue, but I’d love that. So many things are coming back to me as I’m helping him though, down to the small things like making friends, what dorm to live in, learning time management. Parts of it are going to be hard, but you’ll figure it out as you go.
Remember everyone else is going through the same process. Everyone is starting fresh in this new environment. That means people are willing to make new friends and help each other out—just simply say hi. I wish I knew when I started making friends that first semester that it’s so easy to just sit next to someone in class and ask them how their day has been. Purdue is a really big campus, so try new things you may not have tried before, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
Do you look back on your Purdue education and realize there were certain things that set you up for success today?
Purdue was academically challenging. I retook a couple classes which in itself was really difficult as a high-performing student. When I went to Florida for law school, I’d tell people I went to Purdue and the automatic response was, “Oh, you must be smart then.” That helped me realize that, yeah, I did work really hard, and I had to learn a lot of new ways to get through academically which sometimes meant retaking a class to be able to comprehend the material being taught. Those lessons helped me handle law school and take the bar exam and succeed.
What has been your biggest challenge or win?
My biggest win was probably passing the bar exam. That‘s the biggest breath of relief that I’ve had career-wise. The day I got my results I don’t even remember part of the day because I was so thankful and relieved. I was at work that day, sitting there, and I couldn’t really focus. In Florida, when you hear that the exam results are out, there’s a PDF that you can access hours before you get access to your portal results. It’s pages and pages of numbers and three columns that just say pass or fail. So I find my number and it says “pass” on all three lines.
It’s one of those times I couldn’t even trust my own eyes. I asked my legal assistant across the hall to read it for me. It was just the greatest feeling. I think I yelled. So much of your time and money and sanity is dedicated to that, so it was incredible. Amazing.
What motivates you?
A big motivator for me—and this is something I had to identify before the bar exam—is that I need a bigger reason to push through than just passing. I realized I went to law school because I wanted to keep learning, but the more in-depth reason was neither of my parents went to college and they both made a lot of sacrifices to provide me with the best educational opportunities growing up.
There’s so many women in my life that don’t have the options I have now because they didn’t have the opportunity I had to continue on and do the things I did. I never wanted to be limited in my career or in any situation in life simply because I didn’t have the options I could have given myself from an early age.
What does life look like for you today?
Right now I’m living in Tampa and enjoying being a licensed attorney for barely over a year now. This is my first chunk of time without school in my life, so I’m learning new hobbies and figuring out what my next big goal is. I’m also enjoying having time to travel and visit friends who live all over the country.