Cheryl Jackson Kjar knew all about the ripple effect one person can have in impacting change. As a pioneer in medical laboratory science, Cheryl’s expertise in water quality would ripple throughout the state and improve conditions in the region and beyond. Her legacy in the field first began at South Dakota State University, and, though Cheryl passed away in October of 2020, it will continue thanks to generations of family generosity.
Cheryl enrolled at the university, then known as South Dakota State College, in 1948. Her college years were a whirlwind of joining the cheer squad, being named the college’s Rooter Queen, and quite literally running into the love of her life: meeting her husband, Jim, during her sophomore year in a fender bender. Cheryl’s Jackrabbit years were also occupied with her second love: medical lab science. Following her graduation in 1953, Cheryl started her career as a laboratory technologist with Pierre Clinic, then transitioned to the State Health Laboratory as a microbiologist, testing samples from public water systems, private wells, and swimming pools, as well as food testing to search for sources of food poisoning. Next, she took her profession on the road, traveling the state to inspect local water supplies for the Office of Drinking Water in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Cheryl’s storied career was a testament to her passion for medical laboratory science and the pivotal role it plays in the healthcare field. Her longtime wish to establish a scholarship in the medical laboratory sciences program is being fulfilled by her children, Cathy and Craig, along with her brother, SDSU alumnus Roy Jackson. The two-year scholarship started in the fall of 2021 and will be awarded to a junior each year.
Plans are in place to endow the Cheryl Jackson Kjar Scholarship over the next few years. The scholarship extends Cheryl’s lifelong goal of helping others, both through the Jackrabbits who will have the opportunity to pursue their own dreams and through the transformational leadership those students will someday provide in the field to which Cheryl dedicated her career.
