“Take every opportunity that comes to you and figure out the details later of how you will make it work. A very small part of your college experience should be about your actual classes, go and learn by doing!  So go ahead and sign up for those clubs, pursue that internship, or enter that business competition. There’s not many times in life you get to try such a wide variety of things, and you never know what you might discover about yourself,” said Jenna Shenk, offering advice for prospective transfer students.

Before transferring to Stevenson, Shenk attended Montgomery Community College as a business administration major, a member of the women’ soccer team, an employee of a student-run Starbucks, president of the club Enactus, and one of the Macklin Business Scholars.

During her time at Montgomery Community College, Shenk helped to create a nonprofit for orphans in Guadeloupe, Mexico. She first met the children while on a mission trip during high school and stayed in contact with the director of the ranch in Mexico. Fast forward to her first year of college when she was faced with creating a business project that served the community. Her mind instantly went to those children.

The project was such a success that Shenk is able to continue funding orphans to this day. Donors were church members who themselves had taken a mission trip like Shenks, and who were able to see where their money was going and how their contributions improved the lives of children living in less than favorable conditions.

During Shenk’s two years at Stevenson, she has taken advantage of every opportunity. Majoring in information systems and with two internships under her belt, she still found time to be a member of the women’s soccer team, a student worker for transfer admissions, and president/ founder of Enactus, an international club that challenges college students to create a project that can improve someone’s way of life. During the fall semester Shenk brought Enactus to campus and is working to make it a club for all business majors.

Shenk realized early in her college career that you get out of it what you put in. College could be as simple as merely attending classes, but she decided to get involved. She will graduate in May and hopes to pursue her dream to be a web designer.