WCC recognized the 13 members of its Practical Nursing class of 2014 in a formal pinning ceremony Wednesday, July 30.
The annual service includes presentation of nursing pins specific to the college, nurse’s creed scrolls and roses by the faculty of the program; lighting of lamps (symbolic of Florence Nightingale going into the battlefield with a lantern); and recitation of the “Practical Nurses Pledge.” It denotes the graduates’ passage from students to professionals in the practice of nursing.
This year’s graduates are Tasmin Marie Oliver and Morgan Katherine Roberts of Dudley;
Belinda Marilu Hidalgo of Faison;
Jasmine Rae Camille Mone McCloud of Fremont;
Jessica L. Brown, Dana M. Grice, Jessica Lynn High, Donnie Kukuk, Sade’ Novella Mason, Meghan Elizabeth Pittman, and Joey Skelton of Goldsboro; and
Rebecca Faith Fail and Stephanee Rhea Lewis of Princeton.
Kukuk was presented the 2014 Practical Nursing Outstanding Student Award for achieving high standards in both the classroom and clinical components of the program.
In presenting the award, Nursing Department Chair Sue Beaman noted that staff of the agency at which he did his clinical rotation noted that he has “a very unique ability to communicate with others and professionalism that truly stands out.” She said that Kukuk was involved in classroom and community service, served as a class officer, is a part of a military family, and was active in rearing his children, including his second that was born during his time in the program.
Class president Belinda Hidalgo reminded her classmates that they had all faced challenges since entering the program in August 2013, but they had become a family and faced them together.
“Through our day-to-day interactions, we didn’t just learn how to work with different people and personalities, we learned about ourselves,” Ms. Hidalgo said. “Being around each other has helped us see that in the workplace, as well as life, there are going to be various people and that through respect and tolerance, we all learn a lot.”
“Do not forget what you believed a nurse to be, before we started. And understand that it is up tp us to make a positive change in the lives of others. Remember, keep them breathing, keep them safe, for it’s simply what we are called to do,” she said.
The graduates can begin work as licensed practical nurses once they pass the National Council Licensure Examination.
Wayne Community College’s Practical Nursing Program is a limited-admission, three-semester program that is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
Wayne Community College is a public, two-year college with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 15,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 100 college credit programs.
