The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is lucky to have so many amazing alumni around the country that continue to stay involved in what is happening around the school. Karen Combs of the class of 1970 continues to donate her time to JHUSON.
Karen currently resides in Grand Junction Colorado, the largest community between Denver and Salt Lake City, where the median household income is low and one in eight residents do not know where their next meal may be coming from. Karen knows from her own experience as a nurse that these factors weigh heavily on the overall health of the community, and that nurses have the power to help force change.
Being a JHUSON alumna, Karen knows that providing assistance to the school in the form of philanthropic opportunities, such as scholarships for nursing students, pushes students forward to reach new heights.
“The scholarship program at the SON is just essential to cultivate new nursing leaders from diverse backgrounds. I continue to be amazed at the caliber, talent and background of students Hopkins attracts.”
Indeed, the JHUSON continues to attract the best and brightest.
Karen’s contributions to the JHUSON do not stop there however. Karen currently sits on the Nursing Advisory Board for the school, providing helpful support to faculty through the establishment of the Discovery & Innovation Fund. Karen also helps support the CAPABLE Program, Pigs for Peace, and Passports to Freedom.
For all of her generosity and dedication to the JHUSON, Karen was awarded the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Awards Heritage Award at the 2022 reunion weekend.
Karen has since retired from her nursing career, but her impacts on current and future nurses are certainly being felt as students from around the world have benefitted from her generosity.
Click here to learn more about the programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
Go to unitedstatesofnursing.org to see more stories in The United States of Nursing.
