Self-Propelled Story by Communications major Ben Seelig

Former theatre student Rayjay Lee-Jambet uses her stage management skills to provide direction for the company Propel

 As the list of startups and associations that follow in her wake keep growing, class of 2011 theatre alumni Rayjay Lee-Jambet aims to improve the financial viability of communities one family at a time.

Her childhood was split between Jamaica and Palm Beach, having moved to Florida at six years old. She was shy throughout middle school, but credited her time as stage manager at Dreyfoos for helping her develop the leadership and clarity skills needed for her later positions.

“As I started to learn more about theater, and how much you needed to prepare for a production, I became interested in the operational pieces of it,” Lee-Jambet said.  “Being the person to call the shots and understand what's going on and who needs to be where was something that was more exciting for me than being on stage.”

In addition to being a leader within the theatre department, she was also a theatre counselor in the school’s Arts Camp program. Working with kindergarteners and first-graders, she said she learnt about changing approaches to help different groups, while also being able to witness the excitement of these kids participating in their first play.

“We did a Lion King production one year, and we did the song ‘I Just Can't Wait to be King.’ I wanted to cry, because I was leading the class of six year olds, and they all followed directions so well, and they did such a good job,” Lee-Jambet said. “It was super cute, and they sounded great. It just made me feel like the arts are here to stay, and I hope that it continues to be like this.”

When it came to academics, Lee-Jambet wanted to use the Dual Enrollment program to its fullest potential. With high grades in both her college and high school classes, she applied for Questbridge, a scholarship that will match low-income students to schools that want to give them financial help. She was a finalist of the scholarship, and ended up going to the University of Chicago where she studied economics.

“I was a first generation college student. I knew that I was already going to be met with a lot of obstacles as it pertains to paying for college,” Lee-Jambet said. “Dual enrollment really helped me see what it was like to be in college and take advantage of taking college courses early.”

Lee-Jambet now primarily works for Propel, focusing on customer research. Propel is a company that helps users track their EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) spendings online, a process which used to be convoluted and cloudy. Her goal is to make the functionality and experience of the app as smooth as possible.

“Growing up, I experienced a lot of financial insecurity, and it's something that's near and dear to my heart. A lot of that’s the reason why I became a more financially secure person, but I had to navigate that by myself,” Lee-Jambet said. “It was really important for me, especially in the wake of the pandemic, to work for a company that's actually trying to improve the lives of people that tech or government often overlook.” 

Story by Communications major Ben Seelig