June 11, 2014 at 2:49 p.m.
Jenkins wins 2014 Chancellor's Leadership Award
Jenkins wins 2014 Chancellor's Leadership Award
This award is given to a member of the graduating class who is committed to personal growth and has made a positive contribution to their peers, campus, and community.
Jenkins, a Rhinelander native, has demonstrated these qualities and quickly impressed his instructors with remarkable academic work and a natural ability to play a leadership and mentoring role in classroom discussions and activities, the school said in a press release announcing the honor. He was a recipient of the 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). He is a familiar face at campus events in Superior and Madison and has held a variety of campus and community service roles. In addition, Jenkins has also been active with the Distance Learning Center, having served as the student representative on a DLC Search & Screen Committee for an Outreach Specialist (Fall 2011).
While Jenkins enjoyed his time at UW-Superior, in particular, he found research work to be rewarding.
"I became interested in tribal issues while working with Dr. Erik Riker-Coleman to study the issues related to the walleye wars of the 1980s for my research fellowship. As I went further into my research, I began to look at other areas of impact on tribal communities, which led me to URSCA."
The senior presented not one, but two posters at the recent Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activity (URSCA) Celebration on campus in the Yellowjacket Union on April 16. One for the Department of Natural Sciences called Another Inconvenient Truth-Indian Border Schools with mentor Dr. Randy Gabrys Alexson. And another for the Department of Communicating Arts titled, What Happens When We Fail To Properly Communicate With Cultures That Are Different From Our Own. His mentor for that project was Scott Smith.
Living in Madison, he had easy access to the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) and frequently used the archives as a resource for his research activities.
"For one of the projects I was working on, I started looking for historical photos. As I dug further into the archives, I ended up finding other historical materials such as diaries and essays that assisted me in my research," Jenkins noted.
Recently, Jenkins donated his collection of notes, interviews and documents from the SURF project to the WHS.
"Besides excelling in the classroom, Jenkins has demonstrated his keen ability to use his talents in the workforce, the press release states. "He currently works at the capitol in Madison as a Chief of Staff in the Wisconsin State Senate. He is a strong supporter for UW-Superior and a great legislative ambassador for the campus and region."
Jenkins is a veteran, having served in the United States Air Force. He was also mayor of Rhinelander from 2002-2005. As a non-traditional distance learning student he connected with the Superior campus all the way from Madison and made it a priority to stay in touch with students, faculty and staff.
For Jenkins, balancing full-time work, raising a young family, and going to school was an accomplishment he was very proud of.
"I have enjoyed the distance learning experience here at UW-Superior, it has presented some wonderful opportunities in addition to providing me with a great education. Just because you are not physically on campus doesn't mean you can't be involved with campus events."
Jenkins graduated with honors, Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree. His major was Communicating Arts with a Geography minor. He obtained his degree through the UW-Superior Distance Learning Center.
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