Graduates honored at the VGCC Practical Nursing pinning ceremony included, first row, from left: Michelle Andrews, Chamara Enis, Jordan West, Catherine Limbrouris, Adrienne Wilson, Ashley Green, and Brittany Lynn McFarland; second row, from left: Crystal Tippett, Yevette Rothgery, Lona Crouse, April Williams, Loftin Foster, Sherry Rucker, and Andrea Rafales Hawkes; third row, from left: Vishonda Clark, Ashton Brummitt, Sarah Brame, Kimberly Garland, Laura Murray, Nichole Mills, and Roselyne Muhimpundu; fourth row, from left: Nyamweya Omundi, Ashley Turner, Morgan Yount, Marta Saldana, Rosemary Ombajo, and Nicole Perry; not pictured: Emily Litzenberger and Shermika James. (VGCC photo)
Vance-Granville Community College honored 30 students who have completed its one-year Practical Nursing program during a pinning ceremony on Aug. 1 in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus. Upon receiving diplomas, graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the national exam for licensed practical nurses (NCLEX-PN).
Among the graduates recognized at the ceremony were Ashley Kayla Green of Creedmoor; Kara Renee’ Hill, Emily Elizabeth Litzenberger, Nyamweya Omundi and Marta Saldana, all of Durham; Nicole Perry and Yevette Rothgery, both of Franklinton; Vishonda Clark, Andrea Rafales Hawkes, Sherry Skipwith Rucker and Crystal E. Tippett, all of Henderson; Brittany Lynn McFarland and Nichole Mills, both of Kittrell; Jordan West and Adrienne Davis Wilson, both of Littleton; Lona Marie Crouse, Loftin Olivia Foster, Ashley Brooke Turner and April Tawanda Williams, all of Louisburg; Ashton Brummitt and Laura Louise Murray, both of Oxford; Catherine Nicole Limbrouris and Rosemary Akinyi Ombajo, both of Raleigh; Shermika Lyntae James of Rolesville; Kimberly C. Garland of Roxboro; Sarah Brame of Stem; Chamara Enis of Stovall; Morgan Marie Yount of Timberlake; Roselyne Muhimpundu of Wake Forest; and Michelle Andrews of Youngsville.
In her welcoming remarks, college president Dr. Stelfanie Williams congratulated the graduating students and applauded the commitment they had demonstrated both to their studies and to their profession. The president also expressed her gratitude to the faculty and staff of the Nursing department for their dedication to student success.
Class of 2013 president Yevette Rothgery added her own words of thanks to the Nursing instructors, and to students’ family members and friends for their support. Reflecting on the experience of the class over the past year, Rothgery said, “Little by little, we gained knowledge, became a family, and became nurses.”
VGCC Nursing department chair Erica Jastrow presented academic awards and honors to members of the class. Murray was recognized for having the highest grade point average in the class. Brame and Ombajo were also honored for having an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher. The ceremonies concluded with the graduates receiving their distinctive pins, roses and candles. Many graduates were pinned by their loved ones, with assistance from instructor Billi Jo Wilkinson. Finally, instructor Jenny Holloway led the group in reciting the “Florence Nightingale Pledge” by candlelight.