04-14-2022 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 53
2001, she has maintained a private practice
providing care for individuals, families, and
communities. Among her roles is serving
as an acupuncturist and educator at the
Howard County Detention Center; she treats
the population as well as corrections officers
and other staff.
Her work has also run the gamut from
directing a maternal substance abuse
acupuncture program as part of the
University of Maryland Medical Systems,
to wellness advocacy for wounded warriors
within various military installations.
“Education and access are the keys,” said
Jennings-Rojas. “Once communities, and
the people within them, know their natural
health care options, and holistic ways
of bolstering their health, they are more
empowered to take their healthcare and
wellness into their own hands.”
Stukey agrees. She brings not only a
passion for elevating the health and wellness
of her clients, but extensive training.
“Before taking any acupuncture
classes, I took prerequisites in anatomy
and physiology,” said Stukey, a licensed
acupuncturist, who is board certified
through the National Certification
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine.
In addition to her acupuncture degree,
she completed a Chinese Herbal Medicine
program at MUIH and also holds a Master
of Oriental Medicine, plus certification.
And she completed a yoga teacher-training
program at the Columbia Yoga Center.
Her education has been at times
“challenging,” she said, likening acupuncture
to learning a foreign language. “The body
has thousands of meridians and channels.
It requires study, lots of memorization
and much like doctors’ training, hands-on
clinical evaluations of patients.”
Stukey said she strives to ensure that the
environment at Awaken Wellness evokes
peace, kindness and compassion. The center,
which Stukey launched with her husband
and business partner, Brian Bieda, boasts 14
practitioners “trained in the healing arts.”
Among them is wellness trailblazer,
Dianne Connelly, who in 1975 co-founded
with Robert “Bob” Duggan one of the first
U.S. acupuncture clinics in Columbia — the
College for Chinese Acupuncture, which
evolved into the Centre for Traditional
Acupuncture, then Tai Sophia and
eventually MUIH.
These days, Connelly, lends her sage
wisdom to the group and speaks highly of
her protege. “Jennifer leads with love.”
Indeed, a loving approach, sensitivity and
discretion are important because the center’s
treatments for women may address infertility
and gynecological issues, or headaches, back
pain, insomnia and emotional disorders.
“We really look at the health history and
the whole person because what’s happening
in the body is all connected,” said Stukey.
“The conversations we have beforehand
are just as important as the treatments
themselves.”
Heléne Kass, a longtime acupuncture
enthusiast, concurs. The Columbia resident
has worked with Stukey for about 14 years
and describes herself as a “strong, healthy
woman” who considers regular treatments an
essential part of her overall health.
“I can tell when my energy is stuck and
not moving freely,” said Kass, a mother,
grandmother and semi-retired leadership
development professional. “The thing that
amazes me about acupuncture is it feels like
opening a gate that’s been rusted for a 1,000
years. You feel better.”
Any Model Year Any Term up to 7 Years One Rate for All Approved Applicants
APL Federal Credit Union is open to anyone who lives, works, attends school or regularly conducts business in Howard County.
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