From Beaufort County Community College

 

Twenty graduates of Beaufort County Community College’s Practical Nursing program received their nursing school pins Wednesday, July 16, in a ceremony, which is a traditional rite of passage for nursing school graduates across the country.

The ceremony was held on the BCCC campus before an audience of about 250 college administrators, faculty and staff as well as family and friends of the graduates.

In her faculty address, Aino Jackson, lead Practical Nursing instructor, told the class members that they had changed from their first day as new nursing students to graduates who are confident in their skills.

“You accomplished it all and today. . . is about celebrating you and your success,” she said. “From now on you are not just an individual, you are a nurse.”

In student comments, Demetrice Jones, class president, thanked the instructors and family members for their support.

“After today, we will go our separate ways,” she said. “Wherever life takes us and wherever we work, we will be great nurses.”

Pinning ceremonies in their currently recognizable form began in 1893. The pin is awarded to the nurse to recognize the achievement of entering the profession and to signify a nursing school graduate’s affiliation with a specific nursing school.

The graduates are now qualified to take the state licensure examination.

They are Gorditra Anderson, LeAnn J. Beddard, Joy Bennett, Amy Green-Blake, Ashley Carrow, Shametria D. Daniels, Bernetta Dunbar, Meta Gilliam, Adriana Herina, Sherri Johnson, Demetrice M. Jones, Tiara C. Jordan, Quannie Lee, Shaneka Little, Erin Matthews, Joshua Piegols, Jenna Sadler, Krystal P. Thompson, Marie Wetherington and Lisa Whitley.

Three students received awards during the ceremony. Johnson was the recipient of the Academic Performance Award; Jones, the Clinical Excellence Award, and Beddard, the Leadership Award.

For more information about the Practical Nursing program at BCCC, contact Aino Jackson at 252-940-6395 or visit the BCCC website at www.beaufortccc.edu.