In 1983, when Jeannie Park graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a degree in biochemistry, her life seemed pretty set and secure. That was when she shifted gears dramatically, in a move that still haunts her parents' nightmares - she decided to act on her love of magazines, and enter the journalistic field.

Her instincts proved to be sound. Today, Park is the executive editor at Time Inc.'s flagship publication, People Magazine - an appointment that was announced just last month. She moves to the weekly from In Style, where she was executive editor since 1999.

Although Park always loved reading and writing, she said all the adults in her life were involved in scientific fields. "I went through life assuming I would go to medical school, or something that would be expected in an easy way," she said. "But then after I graduated college, I realized I wanted to do something different."

She was encouraged when a friend landed an internship at Time magazine. "She made it sound so fun and exciting," Park said. "It helped me turn the corner a bit in making my career."

Fresh out of college, Park went to Seoul, Korea to work as a copy editor at the English-language daily, the Korea Herald. When she returned to the United States in 1985, she joined the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), which at the time was still a Los Angeles organization. That led her to attend a minority job fair, where she met a recruiter from Time Inc. who hired her as a researcher for Time Magazine. "That was really the start of my career," she said.

When she was first hired at Time Inc., Park was fully aware that the company was actively recruiting minority employees. "In a way, I was hired in part because I was Asian," she said. "I'm not ashamed of that, because I was held to the same standards as the other employees."

Park said she hasn't faced any resentment at the company. "I've been here for so long that I don't think people have different expectations from me cause I'm Asian," Park said. If there are any stereotypes projected on her, she said she fights it "simply by being who I am."

"I believe in treating people with respect, and I want to people to be happy. I don't know if that comes from an Asian desire for harmony," she said. "On the other hand, there is a stereotype of passivity that completely doesn't apply to me. You can't have this job and not have strong opinions about things."

Last year, Park helped establish Time Inc.'s Asian American employee affinity group, now known as A3, which is not limited to the editorial department. The group started with informal lunch gatherings – "I would email everyone I knew and we'd get together," Park says. "It just satisfied a need we had." Even though Time Inc. is working on its diversity record, Park notes that, "If you're an Asian writer or editor, you're probably still one of three in the whole company." As other employee network groups began springing up at the company, Park and her co-workers decided to make A3 official.

The turnout has been phenomenal, Park says, with the organization now boasting a roster of about 350 members. Connie Chung, a recent addition to AOLTimeWarner's CNN, recently spoke at an A3 conference.

Park is also the founder of the AAJA's New York chapter. The role of A3 is tantamount to the goals of AAJA, according to Park; both groups are promoting the advancement of Asian Americans in the newsroom.

"Having different types of people and viewpoints is a benefit to any journalistic venture," Park said. "Obviously, any general interest magazine can benefit from as broad an audience as possible."