Despite managing her busy schedule as a C-level executive, Jenkins says she was glad to visit campus to talk with students.

“There's something very special about coming home,” says Jenkins, who has remained close with Elizabeth With, senior vice president for student affairs, throughout her career. “I think if you can see people who have found success, who come from where you came from, you'll know it's possible. I want to show students how far a UNT education can take them.”

Full Circle Moment

As a student, Jenkins made an impression on those around her. In addition to forming a bond with With, she was also mentored by then-president Dr. Norval F. Pohl.

“Dr. Pohl was just the warmest, kindest, biggest supporter,” Jenkins says. “I think he saw something in me at a really young age. I'm really grateful that whatever he saw in me, he really leaned into and gave me a shot.”

Jenkins worked in Pohl’s office as a student and was involved on campus. She served as a parent orientation leader, was a member of Chi Omega and NT40, president of the Panhellenic Council and vice president of the Student Government Association.

As vice president of SGA, Jenkins advocated for a recreation center to be built on campus, even testifying before the Texas Legislature to gain support for the project. The Pohl Recreation Center, named for Jenkins’ late mentor, opened in 2003 — two years after she graduated.

Although she never got to enjoy the rec center as a student, she was excited to leave something behind that improved campus life for future UNT students. And when Jenkins returned to campus this spring with her children, Havanna, 11, and Hutch, 8, they got to enjoy that very rec center.

“It was such a full-circle moment,” Jenkins says. “I told my kids, ‘You're going to a building that mommy helped get built!’ My kids were a little like, ‘Whatever, we just want to rock climb,’ but I was very excited!”

'Strong Coffee'

Jenkins has continued to seek mentorship throughout her career — from her start in Washington, D.C., working in the office of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, to serving as director of communications at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to her role as vice president of communication for Target. A former boss and mentor at Target taught her there’s more to mentorship than just being a cheerleader.

“He would say, ‘Dustee, I'm going to give you some strong coffee,’ which was code for, ‘Brace yourself because you're probably not going to like what you're about to hear very much,’” Jenkins says. “But it enabled me to sort of steel myself to go, ‘OK, I'm ready. Go ahead. Tell me.’”

It’s a phrase Jenkins carried with her to Spotify, where she oversees a team of more than 200 people. Now that she’s in a position to serve up some of that strong coffee, she says it is most rewarding to watch her mentees reach their full potential.

“As a mentor to a lot of these people, one of the great things is to watch them do something they didn't think they could do, to take on some project that is messy and difficult because no one else is taking it on,” Jenkins says. “When you watch someone figure that out or find that part of themselves, it is incredible.”

Keep Going

Jenkins came to UNT from her small West Texas hometown of Andrews to study journalism with dreams of becoming a reporter. By the time she graduated, her focus shifted from Washington to something closer to Denton. She considered working full-time at UNT, so she could continue to work with Pohl and serve the university.

Her mentor, however, knew it was time for her to fly the nest.

“He said to me, ‘No, you must go.’ So, it's those people who could, even selfishly, hold you back and instead push you forward,” Jenkins says of what makes a good mentor. “Dr. Pohl was one of those people. I like carrying him with me in my heart. I'm very grateful to him.”

That gratitude brought Jenkins back to Denton more than 20 years later. Just like Pohl, she wanted to encourage the next generation of UNT students to take that next step fearlessly.

“I spend a lot of time on college campuses doing events and activations and talking to school groups, but this is my school,” Jenkins says.  “More than anything, I wanted to talk to the Chi Omegas and the journalism students and the student government students to say to them: ‘I'm still going, keep going. You can do anything you want to do.’”