Anny Jenkins, MSN, RN, grew up in a small, rural town in West Virginia, the first nurse in her family. Her father, a fireman who everyone in their community knew by name, showed her what it looked like to drop everything and help people. That instinct led her to nursing, though the road was long and nonlinear.

She began as an LPN, earned her associate degree from Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, then returned to school during the height of COVID in 2022 to complete her BSN at Western Governors University, where she was honored as a commencement speaker for her own graduating class. She earned her MSN in 2024 and is now pursuing her doctorate, with a clear purpose: to bring advanced nursing education back to the rural communities that need it most.

She believes that you can't be what you can't see and strives to set an example for nurses to achieve more than they might think they can. This hit home for her when, on the verge of leaving nursing altogether, Anny attended a Washington, D.C. conference hosted by the Black Nurse Collaborative and found herself in a room with 250 Black nurses and advanced-degree holders. It was the first time she had ever experienced that and it was a lightbulb moment. Today, she serves as Executive Secretary of the Black Nurse Collaborative, chairs the WV Nurses Association Membership Committee, and travels the Eastern Panhandle recruiting the next generation of nurses.

Her message is simple and urgent: get involved, use your voice, and remember that you are more than your title.

For more information on resources, visit ANA's Innovation Website at: https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/innovation/

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