Ex-US Navy medic endows nursing program to honor late wife
Cenon Jacob and Stockton University Foundation President Harvey Kesselman sign gift agreement. WEBSITE
GALLOWAY, N.J. – A retired Filipino American veteran of the U.S. Navy, inspired by his late wife Jemima’s work as a nurse, pledged $30,000 to the Stockton University Foundation to benefit nursing and social work students.
Cenon Jacob, a naturalized US citizen who was once a recipient of scholarships in the Philippines, made an initial gift of $6,000 on Dec. 2 and pledged $6,000 a year over the next succeeding four years.
The funds will endow the Jacob Family and Friends Nursing/Master in Social Work Endowed Scholarship to support students pursuing a bachelor’s in nursing (BSN) or a master’s in social work (MSW), with a preference for those who belong to historically underserved populations and have shown a commitment to work in diverse communities.
Jacob, a Mays Landing, N.J. resident, had learned of the need for scholarships to students in practice professions such as nursing and social work from Stockton faculty member Guia Calicdan-Apostle, an associate professor of Social Work.
“Stockton is profoundly grateful that Mr. Jacob and his family have chosen to honor his late wife’s work as a highly committed nurse by creating a legacy for future generations,” said Stockton University Foundation President Harvey Kesselman. “Nurses and social workers are healers who improve the quality of life in their communities.”
Jacob, who had a career as a medical technologist in Vineland after retiring from the Navy, was accompanied by his daughter Crystal Jacob, a nurse at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, and his sons, Carl, a software engineer at AT&T from North Brunswick, N.J., Christopher, of Bethlehem, Pa., an expert at an Apple store, and Christopher’s daughter, three-year-old Penelope Jemima.
Jacob’s parents were farmers in the Philippines and his father advised him to take the test for the U.S. Navy, which he passed with flying colors. He came to the United States at age 19, working his way up the naval ranks from kitchen helper to become a medical corpsman.
He wanted to do something lasting to honor the memory of his wife, who worked at the Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation over 20 years before her death 2011.
The Jacobs gift will build an endowment through a series of $5,000 donations over five years, with another $1,000 being donated for a scholarship each year, which will alternate between a Nursing or Master of Social Work student beginning in the 2017-18 academic year.
Stockton’s Accelerated Nursing Program enables students holding baccalaureate degrees to complete all of the courses to earn a second bachelor’s degree in nursing in just four semesters. The university’s Nursing Program was ranked #43 out of 450 schools considered in the MidAtlantic Region by NursingSchoolsAlmanac.com.
