Alumni Spotlight: Jordan Furlong '12
Growing up down the street from Athenian, Jordan’s first impression of the school came through AWE’s Run In: chalked sidewalks and high schoolers, dirty, tan, tired, and confident, finishing the final stretch of their 26-day wilderness experience. When it came time for high school, he didn’t know much else about Athenian, but at his parents’ urging, he decided to give it a year, leaving friends who were mostly heading to Monte Vista. It didn’t take long for him to make friends, connect with teachers who became mentors, and recognize the strength of the academic experience.
Jordan found his footing early, building friendships and trying new things. A longtime swimmer, he also joined the soccer team in his final two years and even tried choir. At the same time, his intellectual curiosity was growing. A class on Plato with Gabe Del Real prompted him to wrestle with questions about purpose and value, and he and a friend started a student philosophy club to discuss those big ideas. “Those conversations really shaped how I think,” Jordan says. “I still come back to those questions.”
Beyond the classroom, his advisor, Kalyan Balaven, played a key role in building his confidence. “He gave me permission to be myself, and then reinforced that,” Jordan recalls. “I hadn’t really experienced that level of care and thoughtfulness from a teacher before.”
Jordan began college at Loyola Marymount University, studying business with a Spanish minor, before transferring to USC. There, he joined an entrepreneurship club modeled after Y Combinator, where students spent a semester building startups and pitching ideas to real investors. The experience clarified what energized him. “That’s when I had a lightbulb moment,” he says. “Building software and hopefully having a positive impact on many people.” He shifted his minor to computer science to gain the tools to do that work.
Following what brings you energy has been a through line for Jordan, something he recognized in retrospect. He encourages young people to look for those signals: “Really pay close attention and try to stay attuned to the things that give you energy. When you are learning something new, or doing an activity, and you feel really interested…stay with that, pursue it. Even if you don’t know where it will lead you." He adds, “People notice initiative, curiosity, and big ideas.” That instinct led him to introduce himself to the entrepreneurship club’s guest speakers and their teams, opening doors to opportunities including internships at SpaceX and Snapchat, where he began to see how momentum builds when you speak up and take a chance.
After graduating, Jordan began his career in product management at an established HR software company. While he learned a great deal, he missed the pace and innovation that had first drawn him to the field and joined a small startup focused on hiring equity. The role wasn’t a long-term fit, but it sharpened his thinking about access, opportunity, and how systems overlook potential, as well as the role technology can play in addressing that.
Drawn again to fast-growing environments, Jordan joined ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, when the platform was still relatively young. The timing coincided with the release of "The Social Dilemma,” and he grew concerned that TikTok might repeat the same mistakes as earlier social platforms. “I saw the same patterns repeating and realized no one was really working on this issue,” he says.
Rather than waiting for someone else to act, Jordan wrote a proposal advocating for a focus on digital well-being and user agency. That proposal turned into a new role at TikTok, where he helped develop tools that allow users to retrain their algorithm, manage screen time, and create safer default settings for teens. Though his small team often worked in tension with the company’s broader business model, Jordan is proud that their work helped introduce industry-first tools that are now widely adopted and give users greater control and support digital well-being.
Today, Jordan works at Sunrun, where AI is a formal part of his role. He sees enormous potential in the technology but is clear about its limits. “AI can’t replace original thinking or creative ideas,” he says, describing it instead as a partner for feedback and problem-solving.
He also notes the risks of overreliance. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s been some meaningful degradation of people’s critical thinking skills because they’ve outsourced hard thinking to these systems,” he says. “That said, don’t mistake that to mean don’t use it. It is an amazing tool.” In education, he’s particularly interested in how AI can help teachers personalize learning and adapt content in real time. “I think that’s profound,” he adds. “It’s going to be extremely impactful.”
Still, he returns to foundational capabilities. Being able to think critically and develop original ideas matters most. “All of my most successful friends can speak well, and they can think well,” he reflects. “They’ve developed their taste. That all goes to the wayside if you rely on these tools too much.”
Looking back, Jordan sees Athenian as the place where many of these instincts first took shape: following curiosity, paying attention to what gives energy, and taking initiative when opportunities don’t formally exist. “Side doors matter,” he says. “Many of the best opportunities come from following your energy and creating openings yourself.”
