VGCC Nursing Students ‘Overcome,’ Receive Pins As Graduation Nears

Overcoming obstacles to reach a goal was the theme of pinning ceremonies May 9 for Vance-Granville Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing class of 2002.

The 17 women who completed the two-year program and graduated May 11 with Associate in Applied Science degrees were Donna Beasley, Toy Blevins, Sherry Goss and Caroline Short of Oxford, Brigette Fitzgerald of Stem, Tammy Muckler and Holly Strother of Butner, Tonya Pruitt and Mandy Weaver of Creedmoor, Debbie Fuller of Louisburg, Nicole Rousseau and Melissa Schmidt of Youngsville, Michelle Woolverton of Franklinton, Donna Moore and Dolly Strickland of Henderson, and Deena Sheldon and Nicole Sheffield of Raleigh.

VGCC President Robert A. Miller welcomed a large crowd of family and friends to the Civic Center for the ceremonies and congratulated the graduates on their successful completion of the grueling nursing curriculum.

Miller said the graduates ranged in age from 19 to 45, with an average age of 30. Among them they have 12 children and one grandchild. Many of them held other degrees, including three bachelor’s degrees.

Three of the graduates worked 40-hour weeks and another nine worked at least 12 hours a week while enrolled in the nursing program, at the same time being wives and mothers.

“We know it has not always been easy for you to reach your goals,” Miller said.

Beth Phillips, director of the Associate Degree Nursing program at VGCC, said that this was a relatively small class in numbers, but it was large in determination and power. “You have made it to the top of the mountain, and now you’re looking over the top at a world of opportunity,” she said.

Brigette Fitzgerald, class president, thanked Vance-Granville, its staff and faculty for helping her and her classmates reach this point in their educations. She then told her fellow graduates: “We are now at the stepping stone of a new career. Remember to have a giving spirit, remember to have perseverance. We can make a difference, and I know we will succeed.”

Class of 2002 graduates were awarded their nursing pins, which are unique to Vance-Granville Community College, and they recited the International Council of Nurses Pledge by candlelight to close the ceremonies.

Among those in attendance at the pinning ceremony were three members of the Class of 1992, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their graduation. They were Celia Brinker, who works at Henderson Surgical Clinic, Lisa Worley, a nurse at Maria Parham Hospital, and Camille Gupton Speed, a Louisburg native who works at the Eastern North Carolina Medical Group in Rocky Mount.

In the first photo,  graduates of the Associate Degree Nursing class of 2002 at Vance-Granville Community College gather for a class picture prior to pinning ceremonies May 9. Front row, from left: Toy Blevins, Donna Beasley, Michelle Woolverton, Sherry Goss, Melissa Schmidt and Mandy Weaver; second row, from left: Tammy Muckler, Caroline Short, Deena Sheldon, Brigette Fitzgerald and Nicole Sheffield; back row, from left: Holly Strother, Donna Strickland, Tonya Pruitt, Donna Moore, Nicole Rousseau and Debbie Fuller.
In the second photo, members of the VGCC Associate Degree Nursing Class of 1992 attended the Class of 2002 pinning ceremonies May 9. Left to right are Camille Gupton Speed, Celia Brinker and Lisa Worley.