two Alumni Spotlights are Q&A's with former Brandeis student-athletes, across a myriad of disciplines, as they reflect on their Brandeis experience and how it has shaped their lives today. Read more spotlight features here. 

Name: Jeffrey Chen '22
Sport: Men's Tennis
Current job: Trust Reporting Analyst at U.S. Bank

Jeffrey Chen came to Brandeis in 2018 from Northfield, Illinois, as a three-time state finalist and one-time champion. As a member of the Judges' men's tennis team, he became one of the program's winningest players. He helped the Judges finish second in the UAA as a first-year player, just missing out on an NCAA Tournament berth. After COVID cut his sophomore season short, Chen and his teammates went 7-1 during the regular season in 2021, earning that elusive bid to the NCAA tournament. The team defeated Grove City College for the men's tennis team's first-ever tournament win, and Southern Virginia to make the national quarterfinals for the first time. At the NCAA Doubles Tournament, Chen and partner Adam Tzeng not only earned All-America honors, they advanced all the way to the championship match thanks to an upset of the tournament's top seeds from Case Western Reserve. After going 19-6 in doubles the following year, they again were just denied a chance at nationals, but Chen and Tzeng shared the Harry, Ida and Joseph Stein Award for outstanding male athletes. 

Chen earned his BA in Business and Economics and his MA in International Economics and Finance in just four years at Brandeis. He's worked at US Bank ever since, as a structured finance analyst for two years in Boston, and since 2024 as a Trust Reporting Analyst based in Chicago.

Q: What attracted you to Brandeis in the first place?

When I was thinking about what university I wanted to attend, I knew it had to be a place with a great mix of academic excellence and a competitive tennis team. I honestly did not know much about Brandeis at the time, but I received an email from Coach [Mike] Kopelman, who was the former assistant coach of the team, and eventually scheduled an official visit.After that weekend visit that I knew Brandeis was the place I wanted to attend. The campus was great, and I really felt a connection to the guys on the team and the coaches. On top of all of that, the team was making big strides, and I knew that we could have a very successful 4 years.

Q: Describe your overall experience as a student-athlete. What does it mean to you now/what did it mean to you while you were an undergraduate?

Being a student-athlete meant everything to me, and I couldn't imagine my college experience without being a part of the tennis team. It allowed me to have a super close-knit group of friends whom I was able to go to war with every year. I made some lifelong friends and unforgettable memories thanks to my time as a student-athlete.

Q: Do you have any advice for current or future Brandeis Student-Athletes?

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to try and balance yourself. College is such a unique time and it's important to be able to balance your schedule with all the new added responsibilities you have. Finding the right mix of social time, school time, and athletics is something you should learn to do as quickly as possible.

Q: Looking back on your career at Brandeis, do you have any one or two moments that you look back on and cherish?

Might be an obvious choice but I would say that run in the doubles NCAA tournament was pretty special to me. Our second round match against the #1 seed from Case Western is one that I always look back at as one of the best and most fun matches I've ever played. The quality of tennis was extremely high, and we managed to save two match points on our opponents' serve, eventually winning the match and advancing. Shout-out to my doubles partner Adam!

The other moment that I would put next to that is clinching the win against Washington University at [the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's] Indoor Nationals my sophomore year. Not only was that a big match because it was a 4-vs-5 seed battle, but it was kind of a get-back at the seeding committee for putting them in the NCAA tournament over us the year before. It was a great way to start the season and that whole experience at Indoor Nationals was one of a kind.

Q: How have you stayed engaged with the Brandeis community since graduation?

Like I mentioned earlier, I made some lifelong friends on the team, so I text or talk with my past teammates pretty often. After graduating, I was working in the Boston area for a few years, so I went to a couple of matches and even helped one of the women's doubles teams get ready forthe  NCAA's last year. 

Q: What personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of since you graduated?

I'm proud to have received a Shield Award from my company. It is sort of a company-wide honor given to you via nomination when you go above and beyond your usual responsibilities and contribute to either helping the company's processes or just achieving great client satisfaction. In my case, it was really helping out my whole team get adjusted and fixing a ton of issues with a payment system overhaul we were doing at the time.