When Julianna Pennings left her 10-year nursing career in 2011 to grow the photography business she’d started with her husband, she didn’t know if she’d return to a health care setting one day. She’d worked in the oncology, home care, medicine and multi-organ transplant units and was ready for a change.
Eight years later, the family of six moved from London, ON, to Niagara and within a couple of years, Pennings started thinking about moving on from being a photographer.
She loved nursing, but she also recognized there were a lot of barriers to returning to the field after such a long absence. What she really wanted to do was find a path that allowed her to combine her health care background with her many creative pursuits, such as painting, sewing and gardening.
Though everything she was looking for was in Niagara College’s Recreation Therapy Program, she didn’t know it until connecting with Outreach and Education Coordinator Ali Ryder in August 2022.
“She is so good at her job,” Pennings said of Ryder’s guidance. “Her quick response, her energy and knowledgeability about different programs and what might be a good fit for me with my past work history, all led me to enrolling. I called thinking I would be starting the next year and found myself in class literally a week later. It has felt meant-to-be from the start.”
Over the next two years, Pennings balanced a family, two part-time jobs and college. Strong time management skills kept her on top of it all. Her love of learning helped, too.
“I just attended classes, followed instructions on all assignments and tried my best,” she said. “I do love to learn, and this was highly motivating in itself. I am well supported by my husband and children. I am in good health and have a secure financial situation which allows the mental space to focus on work. And I wouldn’t be here without my fellow classmates. We had so much group work as part of this program and they have as much to do with my success as I do.”
The success she speaks of is an academic accomplishment achieved by only one Niagara College student per year: receiving the Governor General’s Collegiate Bronze Medal.
For nearly 150 years, the Governor General’s Academic Medals have recognized the outstanding scholastic achievements of students in Canada. They are awarded to the student graduating with the highest average from a high school, as well as from approved college or university programs.
“I am in disbelief, as so many of my classmates are equally talented and work so hard,” Pennings said of the distinction. “Through some strange twist of fate, I’m receiving this award as a middle-aged woman. But in all seriousness, yes, proud, surprised and happy. It was a difficult journey for me going back to school as a mature student.”
The journey has been rewarding in more ways than one for Pennings, who said hearing the stories of her international classmates and seeing the immense effort they put into learning and achieving success – all in a second language – was among the most memorable parts of being at NC.
“(It’s) not just the international students though. (With) each individual that I have spoken with in my program, there is a beauty and sense of belonging that comes with knowing we all have our stories and reasons for studying this program.
“This fostered a shared purpose and common goals for all of us,” she continued. “This program was lovely for that, and I have really enjoyed the social aspects of it. I not only got an education but was able to build relationships with community partners and build relationships with other professionals in the field.”
Since completing her studies, Pennings has been working part-time as a simulation tech at NC, where she’s among a team that delivers the Niagara College dementia experience and Hearing Voices. Both are empathy-building experiential learning experiences for students who will be working with people who may be living with these conditions.
She’s moving forward with her academic pursuits, too.
“I am enrolled at Brock (University) to finish my degree, and I hope to continue on afterwards to do my master’s in counseling and psychotherapy,” she said. “I ultimately have a heart to support the well being of health care workers, and to support them in living well despite all the stresses of caring for others. I hope to incorporate recreation therapy in this way as well.”
She’s also working toward a geriatric certificate to enhance her current role at the College, specifically in improving the delivery of the dementia simulation offered across various programs.
“One of my intentions for this year is to say yes to any learning opportunities that appeal to me.”
Pennings will receive her Governor General Award during the afternoon Convocation ceremony on June 10.
