Members of the 2015 Associate Degree Nursing class at Vance-Granville Community College who received their nursing pins on May 13 included, on first (front) row, from left, Kristy Staton, Brittni Griffin, Ashley Martin, Marie Lauriault, Katherine Roberts, Jennifer Perry and Amanda Lynch; second row, from left, Alice Maina, Bukola Adegbola, Shannon Barclay, Omolara Medaiyese, Loftin Wrenn, Yevette Rothgery, Shena Alston and Alicia Robinson; third row, from left, Tessa Egan, Katherine Sego, Yvette Bass, Kaitlin Robertson, Kimberly Murphy, Kristin Markham and Sung Yi; fourth row, from left, Jillian Bullock, Beverly Harris, Kristin Dement, Ashley Waddell, Stacy Widelski, Cheyenne Jones, Stephanie Baker and Kaitlyn Appel; fifth row, from left, Selieta Lett, Lisa Lucht, Brittany Pernell, Denise Edwards, Megan Jordan and Victoria Lewis. Not pictured are Rosemary Ombajo and Jessica Pulley.
(VGCC Photo)
Vance-Granville Community College recognized 38 students who graduated this spring from the Associate Degree Nursing program with a pinning ceremony in the college’s Civic Center on May 13.
Among those honored with distinctive nursing pins at the ceremonies were eight who graduated through the LPN to ADN Transition Program, which helps Licensed Practical Nurses to continue their education and then become Registered Nurses. These graduates were Beverly Harris and Omolara Medaiyese, both of Durham; Selieta Lett of Littleton; Yevette Rothgery and Loftin Wrenn, both of Louisburg; Rosemary Ombajo of Raleigh; Yvette Bass of Wake Forest; and Jessica Pulley of Youngsville.
The graduates who took courses in the traditional five-semester sequence included Cheyenne Jones of Butner; Brittni Griffin and Kristy Staton, both of Creedmoor; Kimberly Murphy and Jennifer Perry, both of Franklinton; Denise Edwards, Megan Jordan, Kaitlin Robertson, Alicia Robinson and Ashley Waddell, all of Henderson; Brittany Pernell of Kittrell; Kristin Dement and Tessa Egan, both of Louisburg; Ashley Martin of Norlina; Stephanie Baker of Oxford; Bukola Adegbola, Victoria Lewis, Lisa Lucht, Alice Maina and Sung Yi, all of Raleigh; Katherine Roberts of Stem; Kaitlyn Appel, Marie Lauriault and Katherine Sego, all of Wake Forest; Shena Alston and Jillian Bullock, all of Warrenton; Shannon Barclay and Stacy Widelski, both of Youngsville; Amanda Lynch and Kristin Markham, both of Zebulon.
In welcoming remarks, VGCC Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs Dr. Angela Ballentine congratulated the students on their success. She noted the diversity of the class. “Members of this class live throughout our service area and beyond,” Ballentine said. “They are varied in age and background, but they are all united by their desire to succeed and to make a difference in their patients’ lives. And it is gratifying to learn that at least 16 of these graduates have already secured employment at a variety of health care facilities.”
Class of 2015 Vice President Yevette Rothgery made welcoming remarks on behalf of her classmates.
She thanked those in attendance for their “love, help and support” while they have been students. “We have all grown so much during our time here,” Rothgery said. “Some began as fresh-faced CNAs and others as experienced LPNs, and now, we’ve become nurses. This is not the end, but rather the start of a long journey.”
Class President Brittni Griffin and Treasurer Ashley Martin presented flowers to the Nursing faculty members to express their appreciation. They also presented a gift from the class to the college to help purchase video equipment for the program’s Simulation Lab at Maria Parham Medical Center.
Nursing instructor Elizabeth André and Dean of Health Sciences Angela Thomas presented cords to students who chose to participate in the National Student Nurses Association, including Alston, Appel, Barclay, Dement, Egan (who served as chapter secretary), Griffin, Jordan, Lauriault, Lewis (who served as president), Martin, Pernell, Robertson, Robinson, Staton and Waddell.
Academic honors were presented to graduates who completed the program with at least a 3.5 grade point average: Medaiyese, Robertson, Sego and finally Lucht, who was recognized for having the highest GPA in the class.
Instructor Anna Seaman described the significance of the nursing pin. The unique green and gold pin identifies each nurse as a VGCC graduate, and indicates that the graduate has the training and competence to serve as a professional nurse. During the ceremony, graduates were pinned by VGCC Nursing department chair Erica Jastrow, and received lamps and roses from instructors Angie Bjorklund and Edward Bartel. Meanwhile, instructor Camella Marcom read their biographies. After all graduates had received pins, the lights in the Civic Center were lowered, and instructor Tracey Hight led students in reciting the “Florence Nightingale Pledge” by lamp-light.