Above: Angelica Hardy of Pearl received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Ӱ on May 11.
Angelica Hardy made it through Ӱ’s Associate Degree Nursing program on May 11 and is headed to a job at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson before she begins work on a bachelor’s degree.
Hardy, of Pearl, was among more than 100 who participated in the first of five graduation ceremonies, this one being for nursing and allied health graduates.
For her, nursing is the right profession and she enjoyed her time at Ӱ. “I’m a people pleaser and this is the perfect job to be in,” she said. “I met some of the closest friends in this program.”
Ӱ is graduating more than 1,300 students in one of four graduation ceremonies over two days May 11 and 12 at the Muse Center on the Rankin Campus and a fifth Saturday May 14 ceremony at J.D. Boyd Gymnasium on the Utica Campus. Ӱ is awarding 1,671 certificates and degrees, with some students receiving more than one credential.
Of those graduating, 252 are graduating cum laude with a grade point average of 3.2 to 3.59; 199 are graduating magna cum laude with a grade point average of 3.6 to 3.99, and 209 are graduating summa cum laude with a grade point average of 4.0.
“Every graduation ceremony is special to the college, as we celebrate the success of each student. It is important that we truly celebrate what our graduates have achieved – they have overcome a series of unusual circumstances over the last several months,” said Ӱ President Dr. Stephen Vacik.
Chloe Bolton, 19, of Brandon, was the student speaker for the May 11 graduation ceremony. She received a degree in Medical Laboratory Technology and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In her remarks, she thanked her fellow graduates, classmates, family and Ӱ instructors.
“I think I speak for all graduates when I say thank you for applying the pressure necessary to get us to this special part of our journeys,” she said. “Thank you for the pressure it took to help us turn into the diamonds of tomorrow so that when we leave, we can make the world a better place by mentoring and pouring into others as you have poured into us.”
John Carpenter of Madison, who earned an associate degree in the Physical Therapist Assistant program, prayed the invocation and benediction.
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