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Wilson County native makes an impact as Tennessee Tech SGA secretary, nursing student
Wilson County native and Tennessee Tech SGA secretary Jeb MacLennan.
As Wilson County native and current Tennessee Tech University senior Jeb MacLennan
eyes his final months of nursing school and winds down his service as Student Government
Association (SGA) secretary, he finds himself looking back on the watershed event
that led to his current career path.
In the fall of 2018, MacLennan’s grandfather had a massive heart attack. It was then
that he – and his mother – decided to pursue a future in nursing.
“He was in the cardiovascular intensive care unit and stayed there for about a month,”
MacLennan recalled. “I saw the care these nurses were giving, and it made me appreciate
what they do and want to emulate that. My mom and I both decided then we wanted to
be nurses.”
While his mother opted for a licensed practical nurse (LPN) program near Nashville,
MacLennan began researching four-year degree options and found that Tech’s Whitson-Hester
School of Nursing consistently ranks at the top. Upon his graduation from Wilson Central
High School in 2020, he made a beeline for Cookeville.
“I knew I wanted the best education in order to provide exceptional care and I knew
that Tennessee Tech would lead me there,” MacLennan explained.
Once enrolled in Tech’s nursing school, MacLennan turned to his mom for moral support
and as an occasional study partner.
“She got done with LPN school when I was a sophomore. I helped her study during that
time,” said MacLennan. “Even now, I will ask her things and she will be a sounding
board for me. She has just been a great resource.”
As MacLennan began his upper-level nursing courses during junior year, another passion
came calling too: student government.
“The previous SGA president had asked me over the summer if I would fill a senator
seat. I said yes because I had always been interested in student leadership,” said
MacLennan.
Soon, that role would give way to a position as student body secretary – an executive
officer position with campus-wide responsibilities.
In this capacity, he says his proudest accomplishment has been helping to oversee
the first-year assembly program – an SGA initiative to teach interested freshman students
how Tech runs its student government and to encourage their involvement within SGA.
Freshman senators are selected from this pool of students.
“We have spent a lot of time working with those students and helping them be able
to translate what they have learned into SGA and into their lives,” said MacLennan.
Outside of his SGA service and nursing studies, MacLennan also served as a Student
Orientation Assistant (SOA) during the summer before his sophomore year – something
he calls “one of my favorite things I’ve done on campus.”
SOAs host future Tech students for two-day “SOAR” sessions throughout the summer,
helping acclimate them to campus and teaching them about the university’s history
and traditions. MacLennan said the experience taught him plenty, too.
“I learned so much more about Tennessee Tech and the history here, but I also helped
new freshmen, new transfer students and I loved being able to work with my team,”
he added.
Following his anticipated May 3 graduation, MacLennan intends to pursue a career as
a critical care nurse in a Nashville-area hospital – a decision also inspired by his
grandfather. He says his Tech degree and the strong reputation of the university’s
nursing school puts this goal well within reach.
“I just want to be in that space of helping people at their worst and bringing them
back to a healthy life,” MacLennan concluded.
Learn more about Tech’s Student Government Association at www.tntech.edu/sga/.
