Life Member Service Award: Jennifer Nevins

As the state’s flagship institution, the University of Wyoming offers something other colleges can’t—a chance to connect with and be a part of small local communities.

Wheatland pharmacist and Life Member Service Award winner Jennifer Nevins (B.S. ’76) knows this better than anyone.

The Life Member Service Award honors outstanding and exemplary service on behalf of the Alumni Association and the UW alumni community.

The Cody High School graduate was active on campus as she worked toward her pharmacy degree, including membership in the Kappa Epsilon pharmacy sorority, Spurs, Chimes, Wyo Gals, and the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

After Wyoming, Nevins worked in retail pharmacy out of state for five years before returning to Wheatland, where she worked at Platte County Memorial Hospital for nearly 40 years. She never lost touch with her alma mater as a member of the UWAA since graduation, even serving on the UWAA Board of Directors. Nevins also helped organize the “Fun and Fabulous Class of ’77” scholarship, which has been awarded to students since 2002.

“I’ve always felt like everything I have I had because I went to UW and because of the education I got,” Nevins says. “So I always thought it was important to give back. Being on the alumni board showed me all of the great things that are going on at the university and made me want to give back even more.”

As a preceptor, Nevins supervised UW pharmacy students at the hospital in Wheatland. Named the Preceptor of the Year for the 2015–16 academic year, Nevins enjoyed showing pharmacy students what it’s like to work at a rural hospital.

“They’d rather go to the big hospitals until they come to the small one and see that they can do everything,” Nevins says. “So it’s been fun to help influence some of them.”

Nevins served on the State Board of Pharmacy for 15 years and was that body’s president for four. She was also president of the regional eight-state District Board of Pharmacy for two years.