Staff Spotlight: Jenny Castaneda

Published June 12, 2018

Meet Jenny Castaneda! This solo entrepreneur has quite the hectic schedule outside of Enrollment Services and most of her time is spent in the kitchen! She loves eating and sharing her cooking tactics to simplify everyone’s life when it comes to eating healthy. Jenny is part of our Student Systems team.


Where are you from originally? Is your family in California?

I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. My mom and my brother are here in CA, about 25 miles from where I live and the majority of my family and cousins are in VA and DC.

Where did you go to school? What did you study?

I got my BS in Computer Science in Manila and went to CSULB to work on my MS in Computer Science.

How did you come to work for Enrollment Services? What do you do in ES?

I started working for ES in October 2006. I was initially hired as a PeopleSoft Report programmer then became the Analyst/Programmer for the Financial Aid module and now I’m the Lead of the Systems Integration team.

Tell us a story about your best day in Enrollment Services?

I have a lot but one of my best days ever was when I received my 10-year service award.

Tell us about your life outside of the office: Do you belong to local or national organizations? Do you have hobbies? Are you active in sports or recreational activities?

I’m a solo entrepreneur and run my own business (Cook and Savor) during my free time. My goal is to educate and empower people with the right tools and mindset to help make them feel their best. I also work with top food brands and companies to help promote and bring awareness to healthy, whole food ingredients and products.

My hobbies include succulent gardening, going for long walks and disconnecting from technology once a week.

I don’t play sports but I enjoy lifting weights and swinging kettlebells.

Are you working on a special personal project?

Yes, I am. I can’t really elaborate on this per my legal contract but what I can share is its food related!

Are you planning a vacation this year?

Heading to DC to visit my cousins and a road trip up the Central coast this summer, Hawaii before Thanksgiving and Poland for Christmas with my family.

Do you have a favorite quote you’d like to share?

"People who love to eat are always the best people." – Julia Child