To Chase Her Dreams, a White-Collar Professional Headed Back to College
A competitive skater in her youth, Francine Glaser held corporate roles before returning to Rutgers for a master degree in human resource management
Francine Glaser likes to push herself – at work, at college and, for much of her early life, on the ice.
From childhood into her teenage years, the Rutgers graduate student skated competitively on a national level.
“It allowed me to be really critical of the work I do – probably pushing me toward some perfectionism for better or for worse,” said Glaser, a Rutgers alumna who returned to her alma mater several years later to pursue a master’s degree. “But it allowed me to really have some competitive traits. If one is going to be a national competitor in figure skating, you have to learn how to have some grit. And when you literally fall down, pick yourself back up.”
Glaser pushes toward perfectionism in her studies, too. Next year, she will complete her final semester in the master of human resource management degree program at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, where the graduate student maintains a 4.0 grade point average.
Between her two stints at Rutgers, Glaser delved into the corporate world, working at financial services firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York and other companies as well as holding elected positions in local government (between the ages of 19 to 29) and working for members of the state General Assembly.
During her time as a white-collar professional, Glaser developed an interest in human resources. Ultimately, returning to college made sense.
Rutgers boasts a “strong quality of education,” said Glaser, who in 2015 earned a bachelor of arts degree in planning and public policy with minors in labor studies as well as women and gender studies. “And we have a huge alumni base. Being part of a strong alumni network matters a lot to me.”
During her first round at Rutgers, Glaser was an undergraduate associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, a scholar in the Institute for Women's Leadership and a Ralph W. Voorhees Public Service Fellow within the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
At JPMorgan, Glaser was an executive assistant to a managing director and worked with human resource business partners, “seeking an alternative way of looking at the business,” she said. Glaser also was appointed to the company’s “Women on the Move” New York chapter leadership team.
“I loved Women on the Move so much,” said Glaser, adding the JPMorgan initiative was created to bolster women's education in finances. “It didn't only have an HR-adjacent function of supporting women employees’ education and well-being, but also a business type of function. It was a passion project for me. And when you find something fun at work, which I did, I really wanted to lean into it. This was part of the spark that ignited my interest in HR.”
Glaser’s professional background includes experiences in financial services, asset management, private equity and medical technology.
Stints specifically in human resources positions include contract work as a human capital coordinator for Centerbridge Partners, a New York private equity firm, and a full-time role as a talent acquisition coordinator for Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency business also based in New York.
Glaser continues to channel grit: Members of the Garden State Council-SHRM (short for Society for Human Resource Management) recently selected Glaser as the winner of the 2024 Graduate Student HR Leadership Scholarship. In February, she joined a team of Rutgers grad students who took part in this year’s Fisher College of Business Master of Human Resource Management Invitation Case Competition at Ohio State University.
“Francine has gone above and beyond in her academic achievement and human resources leadership development,” said David Ferio, a teaching professor and director of the master of human resource management program at the School of Management and Labor Relations.
Ferio, who supported Glaser with scholarship applications and called her “a top achiever,” added, “She is a highly effective team player, placing the success of the team over her own achievements. Many see her as the go-to person for advice and counsel as well.”
While pursuing her master’s degree, Glaser worked as an intern for Siemens Healthineers, a German medical device company that is a spinoff from Siemens AG. The business, focused on imaging technology, is where Glaser became interested in the health care industry. She also is a member of the Pharmaceutical Management Club within the Rutgers Business School.
“Siemens Healthineers does a lot of great philanthropic imaging work that helps different communities all over this country and across the globe,” she said. “I was really thrilled to get the internship. For me, I feel like it's a step in the right direction for my career. I'm really trying to go into the health care space.”
Glaser has held publicly elected roles in local government, too. She served a three-year term as a council member in the borough of Fanwood, N.J., and previously spent six years as an elected Democratic committee member in Edison, N.J. In addition, Glaser worked for several members of the New Jersey General Assembly in Trenton.
I'm a believer in manifesting and doing the best I can and trying to make my goals come to fruition.
Francine Glaser
Rutgers-New Brunswick graduate student
“Supporting my neighbors and supporting my community is something that I've always valued and that I've put into practice,” Glaser said. “And when I was in the corporate world, I found that continuing to try to improve the employee work experience, the ‘people experience,’ as it's called now, resonated with me.”
What are Glaser’s plans after graduation?
"I hope to be working in the health care world, specifically pharmaceuticals, if the stars align,” she said. “HR in pharmaceuticals allows me to be creative, strategic, and part of life-changing medical solutions.”
Glaser keeps a Post-it note with a quote on the wall of her home office.
“It paraphrases Angela Duckworth’s definition of grit,” she said. “It's a reminder that I look at every day when I'm working, and it says, ‘Grit: passion and perseverance for very long-term goals, having stamina and sticking with my future, making it a reality.’”
Glaser added, “I'm a real believer in perseverance. I'm a believer in manifesting and doing the best I can and trying to make my goals come to fruition.”
