{"id":2005,"date":"2025-03-10T14:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T18:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/?post_type=cu_story&p=2005"},"modified":"2026-09-08T10:39:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:39:01","slug":"from-student-athlete-to-carleton-retiree-a-spotlight-on-jennifer-brenning","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/story\/from-student-athlete-to-carleton-retiree-a-spotlight-on-jennifer-brenning\/","title":{"rendered":"From Student-Athlete to Carleton Retiree: A Spotlight on Jennifer Brenning"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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\n From Student-Athlete to Carleton Retiree: A Spotlight on Jennifer Brenning\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel Carleton has a wonderful, collaborative community that you really feel connected to. Whether it be through volunteering or providing a donation, I think giving back in any way that you can is a part of the Carleton DNA and a part of our values,\u201d says Jennifer Brenning.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jennifer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the recently retired Associate Vice President of Recreation and Athletics at Carleton University, Jennifer\u2019s lifelong dedication to university sport\u2014both as a student-athlete and employee\u2014led her to give back through philanthropy. Jennifer reflected on her own experience in the World University Games that was nothing short of lifechanging, and wanted to ensure that students who were selected as part of Team Canada were not prevented from participating due to financial barriers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the impetus that inspired Jennifer to become a supporter of the High Performance Athletes\u2019 Fund<\/a>\u2014a fund that provides financial assistance to Carleton student-athletes who have qualified or been selected to compete for Canada at the international level, including the Olympics, Pan-Am Games and World University Games. As she says, \u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for student-athletes to walk into an opening ceremony with their teammates waving the Canadian flag, and I wanted to give back and support those that have worked hard to qualify or be selected but cannot necessarily afford to compete at that level.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Jennifer, being involved in university sports as a student kept her on the right path, and throughout her nearly two-decade career at Carleton, she witnessed how it positively impacted students. She saw firsthand the rigorous schedule student-athletes maintain, dedicating around 60 hours a week to training, practice, competitions and academics. With these commitments often leaving minimal time for paid work, the High Performance Athletes\u2019 Fund helps alleviate financial pressures they may face.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jennifer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To extend the impacts of her giving, Jennifer made the decision to make a gift in her will to ensure future generations of student-athletes have access to the same opportunities that she experienced\u2014a conviction that is close to her heart. While her personal involvement in athletics made her gravitate towards making her first donation to Carleton in 2008, it is her grandmother who deeply influenced this bequest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought of my own grandmother, who was also a high performance athlete, and how much she would have loved to participate in the Olympics herself but couldn\u2019t,\u201d says Jennifer. Although she was selected to compete as a high jumper, the Second World War prevented her from attending. This was a meaningful way to honour her grandmother\u2019s memory by helping student-athletes access opportunities that she was not able to well into the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Jennifer is now a retiree, she maintains her connection to Carleton by attending events and games with fellow community members\u2014reinforcing her belief in the \u2018Raven for life\u2019 creed. As she says, \u201cI think there is a forever connection because of how close-knit Carleton\u2019s community is, and I plan to be a part of it throughout my retirement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Behind the Donor Curtain:<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a favourite quote or personal motto?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think things are always meant for a reason \u2013 whether it\u2019s tough or great \u2013 your path will find you if you trust your instincts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you could go back in time, what profession other than your own would you like to try?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would work with trees because my passion has always been the environment and outdoors. I applied to two other universities for forestry, but I couldn\u2019t afford to go at the time, so I ended up studying kinesiology because my other love was sports and recreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your favourite spot on Carleton\u2019s campus?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting along the river with the trees. It\u2019s such a beautiful spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What inspires you to give back to the Carleton community?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletics are such an important part of the university experience, and it costs a lot of money to participate. I\u2019ve always believed that sports and education go together. The High Performance Student Athletes\u2019 Fund<\/a> allows students to participate on the world stage and gives student-athletes memories they\u2019ll never forget, which is why it\u2019s what I choose to give back to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI feel Carleton has a wonderful, collaborative community that you really feel connected to. Whether it be through volunteering or providing a donation, I think giving back in any way that you can is a part of the Carleton DNA and a part of our values,\u201d says Jennifer Brenning.   As the recently retired Associate Vice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":2006,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[43],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-2005","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-ccc"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/2005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/2005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2099,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/2005\/revisions\/2099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}