The family of the late Jenna Lynn Wallace, a dedicated alumna of the Rutgers School of Nursing, has established an endowed scholarship fund to support the next generation of advanced practice nurses.
The Jenna Lynn Wallace Memorial Scholarship will provide financial assistance to students enrolled in the school’s Nurse Practitioner (NP) programs. The announcement comes as Wallace would have celebrated her 50th birthday this year, turning a personal milestone into a permanent legacy for the New Jersey nursing community.
Wallace, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 42 following a courageous battle with cancer, spent her life ascending the clinical ladder. Her journey reflected the tiered educational path that defines the nursing profession today:
- 2000: Earned her Nursing Diploma from Mountainside Hospital in Montclair.
- 2011: Completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Stockton University.
- 2015: Achieved her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Rutgers, specializing in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program.
“She worked incredibly hard to become a nurse practitioner,” her father, Jerry Wallace said. “Jenna was a force of compassion and determination—passionate in everything she pursued and unmistakably herself the moment she walked into a room.”
The desire to serve was deeply ingrained in Wallace’s identity. Inspired by her mother’s health challenges and a family history of nursing—including an aunt who served as a military nurse—Jenna often took on nurturing roles within her own family and the larger community. Before her passing, she was a fixture at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and a dedicated team captain for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Her family recalls her “Rutgers scarlet” pride, noting that she often wore university gear as a badge of the hard work required to earn her advanced degree.
The scholarship is designed to support students in one of the most critical sectors of the healthcare workforce. Nurse practitioners are increasingly vital to New Jersey’s healthcare system, providing primary, acute, and specialty care with a focus on both treatment and prevention.
“May Jenna’s story remind you to stand firm in your resilience, to see the good in others even on the hardest days, and to step forward to help without waiting to be asked,” Jerry Wallace added as a message to future recipients.
Angela Starkweather, Dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing, expressed the university’s gratitude for the family’s gift. “The scholarship reflects Wallace’s determination, her pride as a Rutgers nurse, and the crucial role nurse practitioners play in health care,” she stated.
The first scholarship is expected to be awarded this spring. Those wishing to contribute to the endowment can do so through designated gifts to the Rutgers Foundation.
