Lena Christine Jensen Scholarship

This scholarship honors the memory of longtime Traverse City resident Lena Christine Jensen, who died in 1996 and left most of her life savings to the NMC Foundation to create a scholarship fund for young people who might otherwise be unable to attend college. Born in 1907, Miss Jensen moved to Traverse City in 1934 and found work as a nanny. During most of her life, she lived in a log home on Clinch Street where she planted apple trees, grapevines and nurtured her love of reading. She worked at a variety of local businesses including Munson Hospital, J&S Hamburg and Parts Manufacturing. Although she had only a seventh-grade education, she valued learning highly and hoped to help young people get the education that she never had.