Pictured is Northeastern Technical College’s graduating class of Associate Degree of Nursing students: first row, from left, nursing instructor Theresa Wright; Jessica Jenkins, of Ruby; Jennifer Polson, of Cheraw; nursing instructor Nancy White; second row, from left, nursing instructor Nina Russell; Shakeeka Myers, of Cheraw; Tanya Johnson, of McBee; Janice Bright, of Bennettsville; Jamie McClanahan, of Pageland; third row, from left, Teresa Gainey, of Society Hill; Dana Steen, of Wallace; Cheska Quick, of Cheraw; Ashley Parker, of Bennettsville; Demetrius McBride, of Bennettsville; fourth row, from left, Theresa Smith, of Bennettsville; Octavia Crummy, of Hartsville; Jennifer Yuen, of Blythewood; Somer McFarland, of Chesterfield; back row, from left, Miranda Michael, of Chesterfield; Alex Barkman, of Cheraw; Matthew Lambert, of Ruby; Jenna Mills, of Pageland; and Amanda Catoe, of Hartsville. Not pictured are graduates Susan Boileau, of Latta; Krysta Courtney, of Pageland; and Michelle Hood, of Bennettsville.

May 25, 2011
NETC Graduates 23 From Associate Degree of Nursing Program

After 21 months of intensive studying and clinical rotations, students of the Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program were ready to graduate and celebrate. And so were the families and friends who provided them with support over the past two years.

Northeastern Technical College President Dr. Ron Bartley welcomed this lively group to the pinning ceremony for the ADN Class of 2011 on May 13 in Cheraw.

“This is a proud moment for this group who made it through the rigorous Associate Degree of Nursing program,” Bartley said. “The people who supported these graduates along the way also deserve a round of applause.”

The ADN program, in its third year, graduated 23 students. The program prepares students to take the National Council of Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX) in order to become fully licensed registered nurses (RN).

Bartley also expressed confidence in each graduate’s ability to pass the licensure exam and achieve successful nursing careers.

NETC instructor Nancy White presented two graduates with achievement awards. Amanda Catoe, of Hartsville, received the Award for Registered Nursing Academic Excellence, and Miranda Michael, of Chesterfield, earned the Award for Outstanding Clinical Performance.

On behalf of the graduates, class president Alex Barkman, of Cheraw, thanked the audience of family and friends who “listened to us vent even though you didn’t have a clue about what was going on. Not one of us could be up here tonight if it wasn’t for each of you.”

While Barkman talked about the stressful times of being in the nursing program, he also noted, “Nursing school is the best thing I have ever done.”

Barkman also thanked their nursing instructors for providing them with the knowledge to achieve their educational goals.

“On the first day of class, Mrs. Wright told us that we should give up any form of social life we had for the next two years. And how right she was,” Barkman said. “Our instructors had to absorb a lot of our frustration as a result of the workload that is required of nursing students. But we want to say thank you for supporting us and walking through this journey with us.”

Karen Canipe, a registered nurse with Palmetto Family Medicine of Cheraw, also offered words of wisdom to the graduating class.

“As you start to make your own path down this career called a nurse, do it with pride and do it with humility. Do it with common sense. Be sensitive. Recognize your patients come from different backgrounds,” she said. “And be passionate.”

Canipe shared with the graduates how becoming a nurse pulled her out of the depths of depression and transformed her life. She saw how her actions as a nurse made a difference in the lives of her patients, and each patient she cared for made a difference in her life.

“You have chosen a field like no other,” Canipe said. “You will be able to save lives, comfort someone when they have been told they have cancer, celebrate a birth, keep someone from hurting. You will be their voice. This is what a nurse is, and this is why I love what I do!”

Each graduate of the nursing program receives a pin and symbolic lamp, which is then lit as graduates recite the Nightingale Pledge in memory of the pioneer of modern nursing and writer, Florence Nightingale. The lighted lamp symbolizes the continued search for knowledge and enlightenment.

ADN graduate Somer McFarland, of Chesterfield, sang “The Climb” as the graduation ceremony came to a close.

To view photographs of the ADN pinning ceremony, click HERE.