Earning not one, but three degrees may have influenced the twists and turns of Janice Cimbalo’s career. Her Bachelor of Arts degree with a psychology and economics double-major earned at UCI’s School of Social Sciences in 1987 proved just the beginning. Continuing on for a J.D. at Pepperdine University School of Law, she then returned to UCI’s School of Social Sciences for a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1992, hoping to combine science and law as a patent attorney. Upon learning that the job market at the time necessitated a PhD. in Biology, Cimbalo’s path turned again.

After working for Horton Barbaro & Reilly in Santa Ana, then practicing on her own, Cimbalo’s love of music, inherited from her musician father, started her dreaming about practicing law in the music industry. This desire to change legal focus, combined with a desire to practice law in a more closely-knit market, precipitated her move to Nashville in 1996. While there, she practiced law with the firm of North Pursell & Ramos after passing the Tennessee Bar in 1996. Just about the time Cimbalo began missing family, friends and her native California, another opportunity presented itself. Studley, a national tenant-representation commercial real estate firm, offered Cimbalo the opportunity to return to Southern California and become a commercial real estate broker.

This change of tact was not as acute as it first sounds. Cimbalo had already acquired her real estate license earlier in her career. She finds that representing tenants is similar to the plaintiff work that had been a staple of her legal practice. Negotiating proposals and leases also draws on her legal background and she believes her UCI degree in economics helps her interface with the firm’s financial analysts as well as in explaining to clients often complex financial projections. Her degree in psychology underpins her entire career, helping her anticipate client needs and wants, while helping her to sell herself and her firm’s capabilities as she develops her client base. It may also figure in Cimbalo’s longevity in this commission-only sales arena, where, as she says, “It takes a long time to get established.”

In defining success, Cimbalo stresses that one should “expand one’s knowledge base by heading down the path of primary interests, both career- and life-wise. That’s what’s given me the energy needed to do a job, to look forward to work each day, and to both grow and enjoy my professional existence.” With that attitude, it’s easy to see why she values her School of Social Sciences education. “Such a broad degree may not provide a direct line to a job,” she says, “but a Social Sciences degree teaches you the most valuable tool of all: to think critically from a number of approaches and disciplines—to see the big picture, not necessarily every task in getting there. In short, a Social Sciences background trains you to be a leader,” says Cimbalo. “Students shouldn’t get too wrapped up in how to get from A to B in their careers. As long as they move forward in their lives, opportunities will present themselves along the way.”

Cimbalo reflects on what drew her to UCI after high school in Los Alamitos when she had planned to become a psychiatrist. The then relatively young campus was “out in the sticks, offering a small town feel.” Despite its rapid growth during her tenure, UCI never lost that intimacy. Cimbalo was in touch with everyone and anyone she needed throughout her schooling. “In those days,” she says, “Chancellor Dan walked around campus saying hello to everyone.”

Looking toward the future, Cimbalo anticipates continued growth in her knowledge and abilities. She wants to add clients to her roster with whom she enjoys working while enjoying a balanced and rewarding life. “Never stop learning,” she counsels. This is advice that Janice Cimbalo also heeds.

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