Ann Jenkins has a passion for a segment of the population she believes is being neglected: The baby boomer generation. “I think sometimes, especially the baby boomers and people who are living longer now, are finding that they’re kind of just forgotten,” she says.
The connection that Ann feels with this population springs from a special relationship she had in her own life. “I was fortunate to have my grandmother who raised me for more than half my life. My mom was always present, but my grandmother raised me and the relationship that she and I had, and the wisdom she bestowed upon me are just priceless.”
The inspiration she feels was the impetus for Ann to leave her native Alabama and move to Chicago to enroll in the Master’s in Counseling Psychology Program. Now a doctoral student in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program and an adjunct professor in the B.A. Psychology Program, she makes the time to help the generation she’s so passionate about.
“Currently I’m a care consultant for the Alzheimer’s Association – I’m an overnight CC there. We take calls from around the United States from caregivers, as well as individuals who are living with the disease, or any form of dementia for that matter, and we basically provide, like, crisis intervention.”
Ann also worked as a fellow on the Retirement Research Foundation Grant awarded to The Chicago School in 2019. The grant gave her the opportunity to work in different facilities in the Chicagoland area that house or provide services specifically to the baby boomer generation. The grant concluded in December.
“The final presentation I created was around hoarding,” she explains. “I created an impromptu escape room and the idea was to talk about how to know if you were collecting all these different items and how easily you can become, you know, isolated from your peers or your loved ones – how this could lead to you being in maybe a hazardous situation. We talked about the warning signs, how to help a friend, and to recognize when you yourself begin to hoard. Those were really fun.”
The topic of Ann’s grandmother comes up throughout the interview, and the respect and awe she feels for her are obvious. “My grandmother, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity to go to school. She went to, like, maybe third grade. She never learned how to read. She never learned how to write… even lacking education, she put me in academic programs and things so I could advance in certain ways – no matter the cost, no matter how much it would take, no matter what the investment was. And she just had a way, as I was growing up, of requiring, but not demanding, that I be the best version of me.”
Being her best version means that Ann continues to work with and help the elderly population. “Eventually, I’d like to have a private practice that specializes with the population. Make therapy accessible – at a facility where they’d come or be transported to for therapy, or provide in-home therapy. I’d also explore virtual counseling so that I could expand my reach. I want to honor the lives that they’ve lived,” she says earnestly. “The knowledge that they have can only come from the experiences they’ve had in the age and time they’ve lived. I don’t want that to go unknown. They were here, they matter and the things they’ve done are still important. They should not be dismissed.”
Ann’s grandmother, Ms. Betty Foster, passed away on February 6, 2020. Of the woman who served as her inspiration, her cheerleader and the person she could always depend on, Ann had this to say, “I’m so glad I was able to share with you how she was a huge part of my aspirations. She definitely encouraged me every step of the way and was a major support system. She was always so present and willing to do what she had to do. And I’m so grateful for that.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Learn more about The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
If you would like to learn more about our academic programs, fill out the form below to request more information or you can apply today through our application portal.