Just Fantastic
Gain Jue on mentorship, Giving Day and how good it feels to give back.
Classmates and friends Gain Jue ’07 ’12 and Jessica Abbott ’07
Jay Abbott ’07
When she was 18, Gain Jue ’07 ’12 received a scholarship to attend the University of Arizona that changed her life. Now, she dedicates time, talent and financial resources to supporting other Wildcats. When asked why she gives so generously, Jue says, “I wouldn’t be where I am today in my life if it weren’t for going to U of A. For me, it’s like paying it forward. …
Plus, when I’m volunteering my time, I get a lot out of it. I get to learn from really great leaders.”
Jue, a finance director for Microsoft, lends her insights to the U of A Foundation’s Board of Trustees as well as the Alumni Advisory Council. She also gives back through the Wildcat Mentor Society and has sponsored a successful $3,000 Giving Day matching challenge to support its programming. And she has made gifts to many other areas across campus, most notably the President’s Pond, known affectionately to most Wildcats as the “turtle pond” and even more affectionately to Jue as the place where she and her husband, Casey Merrill ’06, used to meet for breakfast burritos.
Jue knew she would attend the U of A when she was offered that full tuition scholarship. What she didn’t know was how much she would love the Arizona experience. Regarding her first days on campus, she reflects, “I didn’t realize how beautiful it was, and also it’s big but it’s small. [It would offer] me a lot of options, but I could still feel like I was going to be a part of something.”
The Wildcat Mentor Society didn’t exist when Jue was a student. But she experienced the benefits of mentorship firsthand at Microsoft, so when the Wildcat Mentor Society was founded, she jumped at the chance to be a mentor in its inaugural cohort. Regarding what has surprised her most in mentoring current Wildcats, Jue replies, “How fast you can flourish.”
Jue is still connected with two mentees she was paired with on her first day as a mentor; she has supported them from their student years through the beginning of their careers. “They’re so sure of themselves. For me, it’s meaningful to be a part of their life growth and to go through milestones with them — finals, graduation, career pivots, learning to manage other people. I feel like I’ve lived multiple lifetimes with them. Watching them and being able to be part of their life growth is just fantastic.”
Jue’s experiences on both sides of the mentor relationship inspired her Giving Day matching challenge in 2021. “What better way to pay it forward?” she asks. “I would hate for people to not realize their potential as early as they can in their career.”
Jue was inspired to help beautify the beloved President’s Pond on one of her Homecoming visits to campus. After reaching out to the Campus Arboretum with a substantial gift toward its renovation, she teamed up with her friend Jessica Abbott ’07 to dedicate 35 bricks — one for each member of the Links Honorary Society — in the vicinity of the pond. They enjoyed paying tribute to their lasting connection with this elite student group while making a difference to current Wildcats on campus.
Jue’s commitment to giving back to Arizona is ardent: “I just always want people to show up as their best. If there is a way I can help amplify all the great work the university does, I want to do that.”
Sponsorship opportunities: arboretum.arizona.edu/sponsorship.