詹妮弗·菲尔·克鲁克斯，91年 Named 99499威尼斯信誉’s Distinguished Alumna 2019

骗子, 谁住在沙点, ID, 和Soddo, Ethiopia — the site of Uryadi’s Village flagship development — was unable to attend the dinner, so 女校友 Council President-Elect Ginny Robbins ’91 presented the award in absentia “Jennifer was nominated by Isabella ‘Simmie’ Askari, 也是1991届毕业生, 谁说, ‘She is a beautiful example of how we can all make a difference in the lives of other individuals and in other communities,’”罗宾斯说. “And I sincerely believe that is Jennifer’s root personality trait — she is the embodiment of Foxcroft’s core value: an understanding heart.” Robbins, a classmate of Jennifer’s, recalled meeting her during their sophomore year at Foxcroft. “She was a rider, and she was going to be in the Olympics. I had never met anyone who was as confident and determined as Jennifer,” Robbins recalled.

 

珍妮弗确实成为了一名出色的骑手, competing as a Grand Prix show jumper on the international circuit and participating  in 11 Nations Cups. 20年来, 她和她的丈夫迈克, 也是个国际骑手, owned and operated a highly successful show jumping corporation.

詹妮弗标志性的自信和决心, together with abundant passion and plenty of hard work led Jennifer in 2014 to create Uryadi的村庄, whose mission is to support orphanages and families in regions where major segments of the population live in extreme poverty. The keystone of Uryadi’s Village’s mission is to empower the local people to build a model village that is self-sustaining and not reliant on foreign aid. They do so by finding solutions to these three key problems: 水, sanitation, and 食物 sourcing.

In 2004, 虽然, Jennifer discovered another passion when the couple traveled to rural China and adopted their daughter Sophie. It was there that Jennifer witnessed the extreme poverty which many of the world’s children are abandoned to each day. Jennifer seriously considered leaving the competitive riding world and devoting her full attention to caring for underserved children, 尤其是孤儿. 在一位好朋友的推荐下, 虽然, Jennifer instead continued to compete and rise through the ranks, simultaneously using her success to build a network and raise money that would support her next great endeavor: Uryadi’s Village.

In 2014, Uryadi's Village was founded and named in honor of Jennifer's longtime show jumping partner, 一匹美丽的白色母马，名叫乌里亚迪. 她开始与埃塞俄比亚的人们一起工作, which has one of the highest rates of orphaned children in the world, 创建一个能改变他们生活的社区.

Jennifer then returned to school and completed a Permaculture Design Course for International Development & Social Entrepreneurship, and also became certified as a nurse practitioner. Together with world-renowned design consultant Warren Brush, 她制定了一个计划, 2016年夏天, they broke ground on another Uryadi’s Village initiative called Wolayta Village in Soddo. This village is made up of a series of family-style huts (which can house up to 60 children and seven housemothers), 社区中心, 健康诊所, 面包店, and a small factory to make a protein-rich Ethiopian staple called mitten. The idea is that villages like Wolayta will be able to provide all of their own housing, 水, 食物, 能源, and economic needs while nourishing the community and ecological systems around it.

“Jennifer Fill 骗子 truly demonstrates commitment in her daily life, and I would be remiss to go without saying that in addition to founding such an incredible organization, Jennifer has adopted 11 children who were originally from areas her organization now supports,罗宾斯说。.

The 杰出校友奖 is presented by the 女校友协会 to honor an alumna who embodies the core values of the School: Respect, 完整性, 善良, and Service; and who has honed a passion that she discovered while at Foxcroft and is sharing with the world. An alumna can be nominated for expertise and accomplishment in her profession, 或者她的贡献是正的, 她的社区发生了持久的变化. If you know an alumna who is deserving of this honor, please nominate her.

你知道有校友做了什么了不起的事吗? 提名她!