The following article appeared in the From The Hill Magazine Summer 2024 Issue. Follow these links to make a gift, update your information, or submit a class note.
“While we may not be able to change our environments on a large scale, we can create microcosms of health and wellness around us. Every individual has the power to do something. That power is multiplied when we come together. We only need to look at the culture at Albertus to see that truth in action.” – Jenny Rice ‘05
An Albertus education is all about pursuing the truth, applying what you learn to make a difference in the world, and sharing the fruits of your search for truth with others. Since graduating from Albertus in 2005, Jenny Willets Rice has done just that through a career in building healthy communities.
community garden, free pantry, and free library.
Coming from an economically disadvantaged background and unstable home environment, Jenny did not have people believing in her and telling her to chase her dreams. Albertus not only gave Jenny the opportunity to pursue a degree in higher education, but it’s also where she discovered the most supportive community – full people who empowered her and were truly invested in her success.
Upon completing her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry, Jenny pursued a master’s degree in Medical Science at Yale University. After spending her entire adult life working in medicine, first as a medical assistant and EMT, and then as a Physician Assistant, Jenny made a leap into starting her own consulting business. Having spent over a decade listening to patient stories of struggle, Jenny now focuses her time and energy on empowering individuals and communities to heal themselves.
In a virtual keynote address during this year’s Experiential Learning Day, Jenny expressed to Albertus students the importance of a creating a healthy community around them, something she experienced firsthand at the College. “I would not be able to do this work if my Albertus experience didn’t show me what a healthy community is like,” said Jenny. “Albertus’ faculty and staff help empower you not by telling you want to do, but helping you figure out what you want and helping you get there.”
Jenny also shared that, when spending time with fellow alumni, she sees that the Albertus difference empowers them to look outward to determine what their community needs and how they can be a part of the solution.
Jenny’s pivot to social justice work began in 2020 with opening the “Little Free Pantry on Skokorat” at her home in Seymour, CT. What started as a small operation has turned into a local movement to not only address the growing problem of food insecurity, but to also challenge the stigma associated with poverty. Jenny converted the first 20 feet of her property into a community garden, free pantry, and free library – creating a space for people to feel seen, heard, and valued.
Jenny knows that there are families who are struggling that don’t meet the criteria to go to a food bank, or may feel too ashamed to do so. While she didn’t do this work alone, Jenny saw a problem and created the opportunity to call other people in to help. Together, they have built a space where anybody can come and take what they need – a place to feed the mind, body, and soul, and make them feel worthy and loved.
“I don’t ever take for granted the opportunities I was afforded because people believed in and invested in me,” said Jenny. “I now feel called to pass the rope to the person coming behind me.”. That’s why, in addition to her consulting business and community work, Jenny gives back to Albertus students through scholarship support.
“One of the things I took away from Albertus is the power of us”.