The Chief Executive Officer at John McGivney Children's Centre says she's extremely grateful to be one of the honourees at the 33rd St. Clair College Alumni of Distinction Awards.
Jennifer Jovanovski is one of five individuals being honoured at this year's ceremony.
The awards honour St. Clair College alumni who have made outstanding professional and community contributions in their fields and community service.
This year's list of honourees will bring a total of 149 graduates recognized by the College since 1992.
Jovanovski graduated from the nursing program at St. Clair in 1998, and has over 20 years' experience in healthcare at Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network.
She then joined the John McGivney Children's Centre in April 2022, and became CEO in August 2023.
Jovanovski says she was nominated by Kristen Kennedy, CEO and President of Windsor Regional Hospital, and former President and CEO of Erie Shores Healthcare.
"I'm so humbled and honoured and truly grateful to be nominated. You can see I'm emotional... just to be considered by someone who believed in me and to put my name forward is something that I don't take lightly."
She says she didn't initially have an interest in going into nursing.
"Even though my mom is a retired nurse, I wanted to go out and do other things, but then my dad had a medical issue and he was in hospital both in London and Windsor for quite some time... and that's when I decided that that's what I need to do - to be there for people in some of the hardest moments of their life, and that's carried me through."
She says the skills she gained at St. Clair have continued to shape her career.
"You always try and put the patient, or the client first, and treat them as a family unit. We really focus on family-centred care, and being able to - especially here - help our kids just grow into their full abilities, and St. Clair... they taught us that."
Jovanovski says her family will attend the award ceremony alongside her.
The ceremony will take place on May 8 at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts.
The other honourees for the Alumni of Distinction Awards are:
- Jeff Denomme, Artist/Author - The Haunted Zoo: Graduated from the Graphic Design program representing the School of Media Arts and Design
- Mark McGuire, Executive Director - Give and Go Sports Education: Graduated from Business Administration program repressing the Zekelman School of Business and IT
- Jenn Pestrin, Executive Director - Community Living Windsor: Graduated from Developmental Services Worker program representing the School of Community Studies
- and Nic White, Owner and Chief Operations Officer Handy Bros. Home Comfort: Graduated from HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) program representing the School of Skilled Trades and Apprenticeships