“I remember thinking ‘it can’t be true’ — that he must have been joking."

Now, after four surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, and her current drug trial and hormone block therapy, Kieckhaefer is eager to educate her students and others about breast cancer.

And this is the perfect time to do that — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Whatever I can do to get people paying attention to their bodies, I want to do — even guys! Men need to pay attention to their bodies, too,” she said.

As the reality of cancer sank in for Kieckhaefer two years ago, she reached out to a local nonprofit organization, Susan G. Komen in the Central Valley, because she wanted to help get the word out about suffering breast cancer at a young age. She has participated in the Komen Race for the Cure for two years and has helped with video projects and grants.

“Thankfully, not too long after my diagnosis, I was put in touch with a young breast cancer survivors support group, so I was able to find other women in Fresno that had gone through it to not feel so alone,” she said.

“Not many 20-somethings have to think about their life in the way that I have, and how I need to do all that I can to make sure my life is as long as possible. I want to be a 60-year survivor! So now I try to not sweat the small stuff, be happy and enjoy life as much as I can. I do see a difference in my perspective on life.”

Kieckhaefer hasn’t let cancer slow her down. At Fresno State she heads the Criminology and Applied Psychology lab, conducting research examining the application of psychology to the criminal justice system. She’s on several committees in her department, and a University research subcommittee.

Kieckhaefer and her husband were married two weeks after her diagnosis.

“I was worried that I would always associate my wedding with cancer, but thankfully I don’t feel that way at all,” she said. “We definitely got the ‘in sickness’ and ‘for worse’ part of the vows out of the way early!”

One of the connections Kieckhaefer made after her diagnosis was with Art of Life, a local organization that helps cancer survivors through creating art. Her group called their artistic idea “Super Survivors.”

She says Art of Life gave her an unforgettable experience, lasting friendships and something to be proud of. It proved to be another outlet for her to process what she was going through with women who have gone through the same thing.

Jenna Kieckhaefer

At Fresno State, Kieckhaefer says her favorite part of her job is working with students, either in the classroom or in her research.

“I love working in an applied field, where I can investigate things that make a difference — like how police officers interview witnesses, interrogation techniques, lineup identification procedures and those wrongfully convicted of crimes,” she said.

Kieckhaefer graduated from the University of California, Irvine with degrees in criminology and psychology, and earned her master’s degree and doctorate at Florida International University in legal psychology. Prior to starting at Fresno State she had a post-doctoral research fellowship with the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

Kieckhaefer has turned trial into triumph.

“You never know what you can do until you have to do it,” she said.