"Learn to do, by doing" is a motto Jennifer Jacobson has been applying to her life since she was a young girl showing her horse in 4-H near Mount Pleasant, Ontario. She was one of 8 children growing up in a blended family, living on a hobby farm. With her mother and stepfather both paramedics, her duty to serve and help people was strong from the time she was 2 years old.
She attended Fleming College for studies in Natural Resource Management & Law, leading to a career with the Ministry of Natural Resources spanning such duties as park warden, deputy conservation officer and water drain management (look out C-K, Jennifer says you need some work!).
Looking for more consistency in her career, she was hired by the Hamilton Police to attend Ontario Police College. She moved to the Chatham-Kent Police Service after spending a year in Hamilton, in search of a mounted police unit. Jennifer says she's still looking for support to re-start this unit within Chatham (I mean if horses can go through the Starbucks drive thru).
Some of Jennifer's work with the Chatham-Kent Police Service includes the marine unit, domestic violence, and bail safety. She's recently switched gears and returned to general patrol after spending a few years with child abuse unit. One of the most memorable (and coldest) moments of her career was having the opportunity to be security at the downhill skiing event located at Whistler Creekside during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
In terms of Rotary, Jennifer participated in the 2009 GSE trip to Japan. She spent 4 weeks there as a part of the program, and enjoyed spending time learning about Japanese police. Japanese officers train almost daily on shift and are skilled in martial arts. Jennifer commented that Toyko almost has minimal gun violence.
From February 2012 to May 2012, Jennifer traveled to Thailand to participate in the Rotary Peace Fellowship program. This program consisted of 25 students from 14 countries around the world. She even spent 10 days in Nepal as a part of the program's curriculum.
Of personal note, Jennifer's partner Steve is an OPP staff sergeant at the Ontario Police College and is currently on a UN Peacekeeping mission in Irag.