Alumni Spotlight: Jaden Jules

If someone told 18-year-old Jaden Jules (‘17) that he would work for one of the nation’s largest finance companies, he probably would have laughed.

Jules is a publicist for Dow Jones, a New York based company in charge of financial publications like the Wall Street Journal, Barron and Market Watch.  He works to place those publications’ reporters on broadcast news segments all over the world.

“I joke that I learned business and finance through The Wall Street Journal,” he said. “I have not invested. I don’t own any stocks. I don’t even remember my macroeconomics class, to be honest with you.”

Despite this, he finds the work fascinating.

“It’s all very interesting from a political lens,” he said. “When we’re talking about the economy and personal finance, that will always remain a top two, if not the number one issue for voters.”

His role combines his passions for news and writing. 

“Consuming the news is something I’d be doing for free,” he said.

Dow Jones is one of the world’s largest financial companies, and it’s located in the historic media district in New York city.

“It’s very humbling and sometimes I have to pinch myself,” Jones said.

There is no typical workday for him. From staying up to date on business news to communicating with broadcast bookers, every day is different from the next.

“Being able to work in a newsroom, I think, is the coolest part of the job,” he said. “You feel that community spirit in any newsroom, and that’s what I like about it the most.”

Jules fondly remembers his time at Riverside.

“I really just appreciate all the memories that we built,” he said.

His time at The Hook prepared him for his work. While on staff, he challenged the dress code and investigated fights at Riverside. 

“It really gave me an opportunity to advocate for what’s important through print,” Jules said. “And honestly, I think that the rigorous reporting done at The Hook rivals leading college papers.”

After graduating from Riverside, he attended Vanderbilt University. Then, he moved to New York City in 2022 to work as a communications associate for Precision Strategies, a public relations and marketing agency founded by alumni of Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, before working at Dow Jones. His unlikely career path taught him the value of trying new things.

“Be curious,” Jules said. “Be interested in learning new things. Speaking from experience learning business and finance, and now I’m doing something that I just absolutely love to do. So there is also a power in the word ‘yes’.”