Jennipher enrolled at Parkland for three reasons: no one in her family had graduated from any college, she wanted to be a college role model for her daughter, and she was still trying to figure out what to do with her life. “Taking classes at Parkland opened me up to a world that was somewhat closed to me before. Succeeding at Parkland gave me confidence to try new things and spread my wings to explore new and exotic places; in and out of the United States,” she said.
While at Parkland, Jennipher was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, winner of the 2007 Parkland College Illinois Community College Trustees Association Paul Simon Essay Contest, and Graduated with Honors in 2007.
With almost 20 years in the healthcare industry, she has had many responsibilities including emergency and clinical patient care, teaching of emergency and clinical patient care, social work, sales, and marketing.
Since 2006, Jennipher has been President and owner of Vital Education and Supply, Inc., which is a distribution house for Philips Resuscitation products, such as defibrillators and monitors, and one of the area’s leading resources for CPR and First Aid training. Her company now carries equipment to support the area’s emergency response teams and first aid supplies for occupational health and industrial response.
Some of her specialties include Pre-hospital, emergency medicine; Pre-hospital defibrillation (professional and layperson); American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor and Training Center faculty; OSHA Standard 1910.1030, Bloodborne Pathogens; OSHA Standard 1910.151, Medical First Aid; and Pet Tech CPR/First Aid Instructor. In addition, she has a very long list of skills and expertise, most of which she has over twenty years of experience.
In addition to her work with her company, Jennipher is a board member at Illinois EMT Association since March 2012; she is a past board member of the Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce from 2012 to 2014; a past client consultant for maternal child and health at Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department from 2001 to 2006; and a former EMT at PRO Ambulance from 1996 to 2002.
Jennipher’s most memorable moment at Parkland is “cherishing the day I got to walk across the stage to receive my diploma. All that hard work paid off! And, I’ve found purpose in my life. I am President of my own company, a business that I’m passionate about, providing training and equipment to help save lives.”