After Losing Her Dad, Jenni Jankowski Came Back to Finish What She Started
Jenni Jankowski’s journey to earning her Associate of Applied Science in Registered Nursing (RN) at Owens Community College took a detour when she withdrew from the program after her dad’s passing.
Five years later, Jankowski will walk across the stage at the Huntington Center in May as the recipient of the Peggy Bensman Award, the most prestigious award given to a nursing graduate.
Jankowski started in the nursing program in 2021, but her dad passed away shortly after. She lost her focus on school as she dealt with the grief as well as the home her dad left her. Over the next three years, she worked two jobs, as a bartender and a nursing assistant at Toledo Hospital.
“I applied for the program again in 2024 because I knew I wanted nothing more out of a career than what nursing had to offer me,” Jankowski said, “and there was no way I wasn’t going to finish what I knew my dad wanted so bad to witness.”
The Peggy Bensman Award is named after the college’s first nursing department chairperson and recognizes academic achievement, professional leadership and a commitment to the ideals of nursing.
“I am beyond grateful to have been chosen as the recipient of this award. If you would have told me five years ago that I would be receiving any type of recognition during nursing school, I would have never believed you,” Jankowski said.
According to Owens clinical instructor Lisa Gast, Jankowski succeeded upon her return due to “sheer determination and a lot of hard work.”
“Jenni exemplifies every positive attribute of both a student and future nurse,” Gast added. “Her bright smile, compassion, solid knowledge base and drive to seek out learning opportunities stand out as a student.”
Jankowski, of Temperance, Mich., credited her best friend, Julie Luffy, and Owens professor Amy Foster as people who have helped shape her experience and education.
“(Foster’s) classes weren’t your average class. She pushed the correct answers out of us, made sure we understood what we needed to understand and she made learning fun,” Jankowski said. “She deserves all of the recognition in the world for the way she treats her students because you can tell she truly cares about each one that enters her class.”
After graduation, Jankowski will continue her career at the Endoscopy Center in Sylvania, transitioning from her role as a surgical tech to RN after obtaining her license. She will also return to Owens in the fall to begin work on her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.
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Published May 2026