the Argus

Eyes Among Us: Jenny Mei

	Published on Apr 05, 2010 by Amanda Martin Category: Eyes Among Us, Features		Vote

Jenny Mei
Senior - Nursing

Cooking Champion, Future Nurse and ABS Volunteer. Jenny Mei is a Nursing student here at UIC. From cooking to involvement in the Nursing School Student Council, Jenny Mei is one very involved student at UIC. A TBH resident, Mei says that she loves south campus and that her favorite part about UIC is meeting new people and living the city life.

Mei spends a lot of her time volunteering because she says, “that meeting new people, learning about social issues and how we as students can impact each other is very fulfilling.” Amongst the organizations that she volunteers with is ASB (Alternative Spring Break). Last Spring Mei traveled to Washington D.C to help with an organization called Food and Friends, and last Winter break she traveled to Kentucky to volunteer with Frontier Nursing Services.

Apart from volunteering, Mei works as a Patient Cure Technician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She actually said she got the job because her junior year she lived in MRH and a student on her floor was currently working the job. “That’s networking,” she smiles. Like any person in the health profession, Mei had some pretty interesting stories about working with patients. “I had a lawyer who preferred to walk around his room in the nude,” she laughs, “but fortunately we were able to convince him to put some clothes on.” Mei also had the privilege to work with a Chicago Bears player, who for the sake of patient confidentiality she could not name.

Cooking is a hobby of Mei’s. Having won two cooking competitions at UIC, one at TBH and one University wide, it is obvious that she is pretty good at it. Resembling something that came off of Top Chef, Mei explains that in UIC’s Second Annual Cooking competition, her and her two teammates were presented with a mystery box. This mystery box had salmon, bacon, tofu and chicken in it- such a strange combination she recalls! However, 75 minutes later, her team emerged victorious preparing Teriyaki Salmon salad with tofu croutons, Chicken Carbonera penne pasta and ice cream with caramelized, diced apples. Mei admits that she loves Asian food and Italian food, and could pass hours surfing Recipes.com for new dishes to prepare. Mei actually developed her love for cooking from her parents, who are both chefs.

Born in China, Mei moved to the United States when she was six and witnessed first hand the hard work her parents put into to provide for their family. Coming from a small village in China and seeing how her parents worked long hours for low wages has really given her a sense of gratitude for all that she has today. She says that she is devoted to getting a good education so that she can live a comfortable life.

Tags: ABS, China, cooking, Jenny Mei, MRH, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Nursing Student Council, TBH