Class of 1996 Profile: Jenny Lo Thorsen

As part of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the YTI Class of 1996, YTI alumni are interviewing each other, discovering and recording what is happening in the lives of our YTI family today. If you are a member of the class of 1996, and would like to participate in this project, contact Sara Toering at sjtoering@gmail.com

Jenny is interveiwed here by Beth Kormanik Hubbuch

After finishing her degree in communication disorders at North Carolina State and a master’s degree in communication disorders at Northwestern University, Jenny became a speech language pathologist and now works at the Indian Prairie School District in suburban Chicago. She works with children from kindergarten through fifth grade, many of whom cannot accurately process the language being spoken to them or communicate their thoughts effectively. Other children may have articulation problems, stutter or have voice disorders. Jenny finds inspiration from her students when “suddenly a light bulb goes on and all of your hard work pays off.”

Jenny Lives in Saint Charles, Illinois, with her husband, Pierre Thorsen, and two daughters, ages 4 and 1. One of the many challenges of being a parent is trying to find the line between nurturing her daughters while pushing them to achieve, Jenny said, and that’s why she found herself interested in the debate surrounding the recent book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua.

“I had to laugh when I saw that,” Jenny said. "I didn’t just grow up with a Tiger Mom. I grew up with a Tiger Mom and Tiger Dad. I want to do that in a more nurturing way. It’s hard to break through that cycle. How do I raise my children to be proud of themselves and know that I love them, but still do what I can to help my children reach their potential?”

Jenny attends a Baptist church, although she doesn’t necessarily consider herself a Baptist. “My husband and I share the belief that God is the one that sets doctrine, not man,” she says. Jenny served as the music director for nearly two years and still fills in from time to time. She also taught children’s church and worked in its nursery.

YTI’s impact on Jenny’s life was to open her horizons to how other people saw the world. “It made me question, what do I believe in and why do I believe it? Is it because I was raised this way? Have I thought about what I believe? It’s one of those events in my life that planted a seed in my head. I didn’t do anything about it until later, but it started the process.”

Jenny can be reached at: jennifer_thorsen@ipsd.org