Photo: RCSJ Nursing student and scholarship recipient Alex Wenner (center-right) with RCSJ Nursing faculty members Dr. Gina Galosi, Dr. Theresa Covello and Dr. Carolyn Mosley.

When Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) Nursing student, Alex Wenner, was called into the Gloucester campus Nursing and Health Professions office in between final exams, it had already been an eventful day. It took a moment for the freshman student absorb the news he received there – Wenner was the recipient of a surprise scholarship from the Pitman Women’s Club, valued at $200.

“I’m so appreciative! I really want to thank the Pitman Women’s Club and the faculty here,” said Wenner, as he took in the good news. “I thought I was coming in for feedback on my performance, and I guess in a way that’s what I got. It means a lot to be recognized like this – especially to a nontraditional student like me, who is just setting out on a new career path.”

Wenner, of Pitman, was selected by the Nursing and Health Professions faculty, on behalf of the Pitman Women’s Club, for his commitment to the profession and his tireless work ethic in both his academic classes and his clinicals.

When Wenner enrolled in RCSJ’s Nursing program, he already had a bachelor’s degree and a successful career in IT. It was his passion for problem solving that first drew him to work with computers; as his career progressed, Wenner realized that his favorite part about fixing something was that it allowed him to help other people and to make their day better. He became increasingly aware that he wanted to apply that same analytical thinking in a way that had more of an impact, and he wanted to do it through nursing. Once the difficult decision to shift careers was made, he knew that RCSJ was the place he wanted to start.

“I was certainly drawn to the affordability and locality of the program here,” admitted Wenner, “but it was the high regard of RCSJ’s Nursing program, which was voted number one in the state for several years in a row, that was the biggest factor in my decision.”

Wenner was nominated for the scholarship because of his compassion, diligence and dedication to the profession. The College’s Nursing and Health Professions faculty then took a vote on the nominee most deserving of the scholarship.

Wenner had a bit of advice for other students such as himself who feel the pull to reinvent themselves within a new career: “Never think that it’s too late and you can’t do it. It is possible. Sure, it will be harder than it was at 18 when you’re living at your parent’s home with no bills, but it’s always possible to make a change in your life for the better if you want it and work for it.”

For more information on starting your healthcare career at Rowan College of South Jersey, visit RCSJ.edu/Nursing.

Rowan College of South Jersey–Gloucester is located on a 250-acre campus on Tanyard Road, Deptford, just off Exit 56 of Route 55.