Drexel University Athletics
Jenna Lindsay, A Leader On And Off The Field
10/16/2020 10:09:00 AM | Women's Soccer
PHILADELPHIA – We are all faced with adversity at some point in our lives. Former Drexel Women's Soccer star Jenna Jakubowski (neé Lindsay) '11 had people doubting her ability to play college soccer while pursuing a nursing degree at the same time.
"I knew I definitely wanted to study nursing," Jakubowski said.
"When I went to see both schools, West Chester had actually said 'I don't know if you'd be able to do nursing with soccer'" Jakubowski said.
faced the challenges of playing soccer while pursuing
a nursing degree together.
Jakubowski's visit to Drexel was highly influential on her decision. She found encouragement to pursue her ambitions on the field and in the classroom and a support network which she could tap into.
"Coach Ray Goon was really supportive of me playing soccer and doing nursing," Jakubowski said. "It was a done deal once I saw Drexel just because of how supportive they were."
In her time at Drexel, Jakubowski excelled on the soccer field. She led the Dragons in goals and points in each of her four seasons (2008-11). Jakubowski also still holds the program record for career goals with 25. Her junior and senior years, Jakubowski was named a team captain. This would not be the last time she would be in a leadership role.
Jakubowski credits her success at Drexel to the work she put in prior to arriving there.
"All the hard work I put in leading up to college," Jakubowski said. "Weekends would be given up traveling for soccer."
The hard work and sacrifice certainly paid off for Jakubowski. Not only was she a Division 1 athlete, she was pursuing a nursing degree at the same time.
"We would practice at six in the morning and clinicals would start at six," Jakubowski said. "There would be some days we would either have to skip practice or go for a little bit and then have to run to clinicals."
Master's of Science in Nursing
from Drexel University.
It was not an easy process for Jakubowski. With the support from Coach Goon as well as her other athletes going through the process, including teammate Katie Duncan, she was able to succeed. Jakubowski also had to go through the co-op process. In her only co-op, Jakubowski worked on the neurology floor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
"After I graduated and took my boards and passed the boards, I stayed on and worked full-time on the unit that I worked on as a co-op and nurse technician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," Jakubowski said.
Jakubowski graduated with a Master's of Science in Nursing from Drexel. She is now a Clinical Supervisor at CHOP. This position has given Jakubowski a great deal of leadership experience that she hopes to build on in the future.
"I would like to one day become a manager of a unit or an outpatient unit," Jakubowski said.
Jenna Jakubowski did not let her doubters put a limitation on what she could achieve.
