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Tamera Jenkins knew she wanted to continue her education once her children were grown. So when her youngest son, Tony, finished high school, she started giving some thought to what she would do next.
“I love the idea of education and was thrilled when my son went to Blue River,” said the lifelong Independence resident. “But I had not been in a school setting forever. It was my son who urged me to just try a few classes, just to see how I liked it.”
So Jenkins, 49, and a 1979 graduate of Van Horn High School, started slowly by taking basic English and mathematics classes at MCC-Blue River. It did not take long for the mother of two to get hooked. But even then, she had no idea that the decision to go back to school would first lead her to Park University and then to being selected for a 2010-11 Fulbright Scholarship.
“I didn’t even see myself getting done at Blue River,” she said. “I had been planning to go back to school at some point, but didn’t really see myself doing anything specific. It just never occurred to me how far I would go.”
The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which is sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to increase the mutual understanding between people of the United States and those from other countries. The program operates in more than 155 countries throughout the world. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Fulbright program is available to any American who has a bachelor’s degree to spend nine months studying, researching or teaching in a foreign country.
Jenkins, a December 2009 graduate of Park University, is the first student from Park to be selected for the Fulbright program. She received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/corrections from the university. She will be attending Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., where she will study criminal justice.
“I have literally been waiting on pins and needles for the announcement,” she said. “I am still having a hard time believing that I received a Fulbright. I mean, what are the odds when there are so many that apply. It seems hard to believe that I actually made it.”
Jenkins chose Simon Fraser because of its criminal justice program. She is interested in restorative justice and using it in the American corrections system once she completes her master’s degree. Restorative justice, commonly used in the Canadian prison system, is a theory that emphasize repairing harm caused by criminal behavior through processes that include all stakeholders – the victim, the offender and the community.
Tamera Jenkins knew she wanted to continue her education once her children were grown. So when her youngest son, Tony, finished high school, she started giving some thought to what she would do next.
“I love the idea of education and was thrilled when my son went to Blue River,” said the lifelong Independence resident. “But I had not been in a school setting forever. It was my son who urged me to just try a few classes, just to see how I liked it.”
So Jenkins, 49, and a 1979 graduate of Van Horn High School, started slowly by taking basic English and mathematics classes at MCC-Blue River. It did not take long for the mother of two to get hooked. But even then, she had no idea that the decision to go back to school would first lead her to Park University and then to being selected for a 2010-11 Fulbright Scholarship.
“I didn’t even see myself getting done at Blue River,” she said. “I had been planning to go back to school at some point, but didn’t really see myself doing anything specific. It just never occurred to me how far I would go.”
The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which is sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to increase the mutual understanding between people of the United States and those from other countries. The program operates in more than 155 countries throughout the world. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Fulbright program is available to any American who has a bachelor’s degree to spend nine months studying, researching or teaching in a foreign country.
Jenkins, a December 2009 graduate of Park University, is the first student from Park to be selected for the Fulbright program. She received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/corrections from the university. She will be attending Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., where she will study criminal justice.
“I have literally been waiting on pins and needles for the announcement,” she said. “I am still having a hard time believing that I received a Fulbright. I mean, what are the odds when there are so many that apply. It seems hard to believe that I actually made it.”
Jenkins chose Simon Fraser because of its criminal justice program. She is interested in restorative justice and using it in the American corrections system once she completes her master’s degree. Restorative justice, commonly used in the Canadian prison system, is a theory that emphasize repairing harm caused by criminal behavior through processes that include all stakeholders – the victim, the offender and the community.
“In restorative justice, all parties come together to work out what they believe is right,” she said. “Everyone needs to have a say in what should be done to correct the problem. Otherwise it is like a revolving door with criminals entering and exiting prison.”
Jenkins said the idea of restorative justice is relatively new in the United States and not widely used. She became passionate about the idea during an internship at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.
“We like to say we rehabilitate criminals while they are in prison, but the statistics don’t bear that to be true,” she said. “I would like to utilize what I have learned in the prison system here and put things into effect to truly help everyone involved.”
Jenkins said it was the internship at Leavenworth as well as a second one with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office that really brought what she wanted to do with her life into focus.
She said she had the chance to work with victims as well as with those who committed the crimes and saw that there could be a better way to deal with the issue of repeat offenders. Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, she said, will help her realize her dream.
“I began to see the real interest in restorative justice and knew that is what I wanted to do,” she said. “I would like to work in victim-offender mediation. I would not have known that if I had not stumbled into these internships, and I would have never guessed that it would bring about the culmination of where I am today.”
Jenkins will be traveling to Vancouver with her husband Jim and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Alexis, the oldest of her three grandchildren. She said she would love the opportunity to bring her entire family, which includes children Tony and Candace, to live in Canada for a year, but having Alexis there, she said, will be a joy.
“We are going to enroll her in the third grade when we get up there, which I think will be very exciting,” she said. “The opportunity to live and study in another country is exciting. I know the culture in Canada is not vastly different, but it will still be a great opportunity for Alexis.”
Jim Jenkins said he is proud of what his wife has accomplished and is ready to support her in this next step.
“I was counting on her getting this scholarship from the beginning, so I think she was a lot more surprised than I was when she was selected,” he said.
“What a great chance to live in another country for a year. I think we all are eager about what is to come.”
