Jannah Bowen likes to pack lightly. It’s a preference that not only shapes your travel style, but also your overall approach to life. The world traveler, professional flight attendant, filmmaker and entrepreneur approaches each experience with an open mind and very few expectations.
What she carries with her everywhere is a predominant feeling of gratitude. For your parents, for your opportunities, and for your education at UNLV.
At age 26, Bowen, a 2020 graduate of UNLV’s Honors College with a degree in marketing and international business, has lived in four countries and speaks five languages. During her childhood, she moved every two years. Although new cultural and social landscapes were difficult to navigate, she became adaptable and “learned how to learn” – traits that served her well when she enrolled in UNLV’s Global Entrepreneurship Experience (GEE) program at Lee Business School.
At UNLV, she found a strong and supportive community. She has received crucial financial assistance from the Lee Scholars program and a number of other privately funded sources: Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association Scholarship, Bank of America NV Scholarship, Mary Dougherty Honors Scholarship, and Patricia Sastaunik studies. The support not only allowed her to fully engage in campus life, but also gave her the invaluable opportunity to study abroad in China and Germany.
The GEE program, Bowen reflects, helped her develop lifelong skills.
“Entrepreneurship is important for thriving in business, but it’s also important for film, engineering or psychology – any area where innovation is involved,” says Bowen. “Yes, GEE teaches you how to write a business plan, but it also teaches other essential skills. How do you turn your idea into a product or system? How can you make a plan that is sustainable? What are you giving back to the community?”
Paying early comes naturally to Bowen. Receiving so much financial support, she was inspired to create her own scholarship. This spring, she funded the TradeMama Fellowship for Global Entrepreneurs, named after a company founded by her father. The free trade portal provides a database of suppliers and manufacturers, allowing companies to source products locally – or from any region in the world. Bowen serves as global marketing director.
The TradeMama Scholarship will support GEE students with a passion for learning.
“UNLV had a huge impact on me. I had so many moments of wonder and accomplishment. Knowing how much my scholarships have changed my life, I want to be a small part of someone else’s experience.”
For Bowen, it was meaningful – and a little scary – to give back at such an early stage in his career. But it was a step consistent with his worldview.
“I think it’s important to give what you have now, and not have the expectation of giving in the future.”
Where the future lies for Bowen is an open book. She loves the diversity and open-mindedness of Las Vegas. For now, it’s the foundation of her family and her position as a flight attendant. But she also feels there are many more business opportunities to seek out, people to befriend and cultures to explore around the world.
“There is so much of the world to experience. Wherever opportunity takes me, I will go.”
