Nursing student Taylor Jenkinson will run the 2024 Boston Marathon to raise funds to support the MGH Institute

It just wasn’t adding up for Taylor Jenkinson.

She had earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2012 and a graduate degree in public health from Drexel University two years later. However, Jenkinson had to put on hold an anticipated career in community health due to unforeseen family circumstances and take an office job where she discovered a natural affinity for accounting. But while crunching numbers was fine enough, she never lost the desire to go into healthcare.

It wasn’t until she became a mother in 2019 that she was inspired to pursue her original path. She applied to just one program – the MGH Institute’s Master of Science in Nursing program – and began the journey to her new career in 2022.

“My kids played a huge role in choosing to return to school to become a nurse practitioner,” said Jenkinson, who is married with two children, Ensley (4) and Reed (2). “I felt like I had missed so many opportunities over the last decade trying to find my way back to what I was really passionate about.”

Now half-way through the three-year program, she has gained valuable experience working with clients in the Dr. Charles A. and Ann Sanders IMPACT Practice Center. It has inspired her to run the 2024 Boston Marathon to raise funds for it.

“The center has been incredibly valuable to my learning experience and growth as a future nurse practitioner,” said Jenkinson, who is in the Women’s Health specialty track. “IHP students are uniquely prepared to enter their respective healthcare fields with confidence, thanks to opportunities such as clinical simulations and interprofessional practice opportunities at the center. I am proud to support these continued opportunities for future IHP students.”

She’s one of two runners who will run the 2024 Boston Marathon on April 15 for Team IHP. Since 2011, more than two dozen students, alumni, and faculty have raised over $160,000 to support the school.

Growing up, the Franklin, MA native regularly hung out with her family at Mile 17 in Wellesley to cheer on the runners as they prepared for Heartbreak Hill. She eschewed running for ice hockey and soccer in high school, but eventually the running bug bit her. Since 2010, she’s completed seven marathons, including Boston in 2011 and 2012. It’s been several years since she last ran a race, but she feels ready to hit the pavement once again. And this year it will be with her mother, for whom this will be her 13th time running Boston.

“Running has taken me to new places to connect with fellow athletes and share stories and experiences with new acquaintances,” Jenkinson said. “I can’t think of a better way to represent the IHP than in one of the most iconic marathons in the world.”

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