Jalyn Poynter
Lee University announced Jalyn Poynter as winner of the 2023 F.J. Lee Award. She was recognized for this honor during a special chapel service.
This annual award was established in 1968 in honor of the second president of Lee University. It is presented to the Lee senior with the overall most outstanding record of student achievement. Award winners demonstrate high standards of integrity, leadership, service, broad campus involvement, and academic excellence. Each department may nominate one student for the award, and from these nominees, a winner is selected by a faculty vote.
“The nursing faculty overwhelmingly chose Jalyn as our nominee for the F.J. Lee Award,” said Kathleen Rose, undergraduate BSN chair and assistant professor of nursing. “She is an exceptional student and has demonstrated this throughout the nursing program by her engagement in classes, her sharp mind, critical thinking, and her strong attitude to learn everything possible. She also gives excellent nursing care as she constantly shines the love of Jesus on her patients, their families, and her coworkers.”
Ms. Poynter is a member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Evangelistic Singers, and Imago Dei, a movement dedicated to starting conversations about social justice issues and recognizing the image of God in everyone. She has also been involved with a women's conference on campus called Worthy Now, the Social Justice Committee of Student Council, and the Learn Engage Achieve Program.
Ms. Poynter is a Presidential and Honors Scholar, a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Society, and will graduate Summa Cum Laude this May.
“Receiving this award is a testament to the Lord’s faithfulness!” said Ms. Poynter, a senior nursing major and Spanish minor from Beaver Dam, Ky. “Throughout my time at Lee, He has equipped me in my pursuit of excellence. Through so many professors, friends, and mentors, He has blessed me with Kingdom community. To see the fruits of that in this award, is truly humbling.”
In addition to her academic success and extracurricular activities, she has participated in several acts of service, including Urban Outreach at the City of Refuge in Dalton, leading worship at various events on campus, and volunteering at a school in Colombia teaching English anatomy terminology.
After graduation, Ms. Poynter will be moving to Nashville to work at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Emergency Department. She plans to eventually pursue her doctorate to become a family nurse practitioner with the goal of becoming a professor or clinical instructor.