When she was just 14 years old, Ann Bajari started volunteering at a small, local hospital in her hometown of Winsted, MN. With a population of less than 2,000 people, Bajari knew many of the patients. The experience inspired her to become invested not only in improving the health of patients, but also in contributing to the well-being of her community, and she became a nursing assistant at 16.
“At the beginning of my rural, public-health nursing career, my work spanned the lifespan, from ‘womb to tomb’. We worked with young families to help them have healthy babies and raise healthy children, provided assistance to elderly persons to help them remain safely in their homes, and supported patients and their families through the process of dying. I found my calling when I found public health.”
After attending St. Catherine University in St. Paul for a year and a half, she took a hiatus to raise her three children. Bajari went back to school to complete her bachelor’s degree in nursing and eventually earned an MPH in nursing at the College of St. Benedict. She was in one of the last public health nursing cohorts at SPH before the program was restructured, and says her experiences at the school helped prepare her for additional leadership roles in her career.
“I used the knowledge I gained at the School of Public Health and from my excellent professors when I was appointed by the county board to serve as Director of Meeker McLeod Sibley Community Health Services,” Bajari says.
She later became involved with the Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA), where she held various leadership roles, including president and treasurer. Those opportunities at MPHA came about after she was recommended based on her leadership skills and her passion for promoting the greater good. “If someone hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have volunteered. But I am so glad that it happened,” she says.
She strongly believes in paying it forward. Bajari received a scholarship at St. Benedict’s, as well as a stipend at SPH, which she says made education possible for her as a full- time student and parent. In 2018, she and her husband established the Ann and Jerry Bajari scholarship fund at SPH to provide financial support to students, with a preference towards students who are registered nurses.
“Managing to raise a family with limited income while in school can be challenging,“ said Christina McGovern, a recipient of the Bajari scholarship, who is both a nurse and full-time MPH student. “My husband and I have a son and another little one on the way. We are very grateful for the generosity of Ann and Jerry Bajari.”
The scholarship has already supported several full-time students in their journey toward earning an advanced public health degree. Helping to strengthen the public health field by making education possible for others is very important to Bajari, and thanks to her gifts, more students will have access to the education necessary to help provide a healthier future.
