{"id":5526,"date":"2024-12-17T15:28:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T21:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/?p=5526"},"modified":"2024-12-17T16:48:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T22:48:41","slug":"jones-college-a-d-nurse-grads-overcome-obstacles-to-achieve-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/news\/jones-college-a-d-nurse-grads-overcome-obstacles-to-achieve-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Â鶹ֱ²¥ A.D. Nurse grads overcome obstacles to achieve dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ELLISVILLE \u2013 To make the \u201ccut\u201d and be accepted into a nursing program is difficult. To graduate can be even more challenging. Some of the 26, new Associate Degree Nursing graduates from Â鶹ֱ²¥ didn\u2019t think they\u2019d graduate because of the obstacles they had to overcome to achieve their dreams. Thirty-one-year-old Jennifer Ha from Oak Grove saw the Covid 19 epidemic as an opportunity to enter the healthcare field to make a difference. Despite the trials she endured, she\u2019s one step closer to her dream of being a nurse practitioner now that she has her A.D.N degree.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Jennifer Ha & Mike Cummings<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI was living in Texas as a nanny, and it seemed like the perfect time to go back and pursue something where I knew I could help people. Being a nanny, I had some experience keeping people alive,\u201d Ha joked. \u201cReally, I started nursing to help people like my dad who was sick right before I took my entrance exam. He passed away nine days before the test. I\u2019m still trying to make him proud from heaven, and by the grace of God, I\u2019m here today, graduating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covid shut downs and isolation also impacted 23-year-old, Mathews Newton from Hurley, whose journey was upended while at USM on the early acceptance track with special honors into nursing school. Being a first-generation college student in his adopted family and with little computer experience, Newton quit college.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Mathews Newton<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the first semester I just couldn\u2019t handle it, mental health wise. I just shut my laptop off one day and never opened it again,\u201d Newton explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working in home health, he heard about Â鶹ֱ²¥\u2019s A.D. Nursing program and was back on his journey to become a nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to give up; I still wanted to be a nurse. I was going to get my pre-requisite classes and return to USM, but I got accepted into this program after being really discouraged. The fact that I went through with it and then got into nursing school, which is harder than they make it seem, today is sweet relief!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s accepted a job at Wesley Hospital\u2019s ICU and is now exploring options in nursing on the I.T. education side of the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was rarely on a computer before, but I have learned to really like it once I got used to it. I now enjoy helping with charting and navigating the new charting systems,\u201d Newton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navigating through the challenges of nursing school may have been a little easier than the tests of being a mother for Bridgit Sears. The 30-year-old from Ellisville managed to work part-time at Pineview Nursing Home in Waynesboro, juggling her four kids, ages 11, 10, 7, and 3, with a baby on the way, and a husband who works on the oil rig every other week.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Jaxsen, Junior, Amiellia, Bridget, Jeramiah and Jonah Sears<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge was having a job and kids. I would have to wait sometimes until 10 or 11 at night when everyone was in bed to be able to study and then run off of three or four hours of sleep the next day,\u201d Sears shared. \u201cWhen they tell you nursing school is hard, it is! Blood, sweat and tears goes into it and it\u2019s a lot of work. A lot of time, mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her Practical Nursing and Associate Degree in Nursing complete, Sears now has her sights on earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me to set a good example for my kids and my family too. Hardly anyone in my family graduated from college so this is a big deal!\u201d Sears said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 60 years, Â鶹ֱ²¥\u2019s Associate Degree Nursing program has been sending its graduates into the healthcare field. The December Pinning Ceremony is a celebration of hard work and support from family and friends. Class President, Anna Webb of Petal summed up the past five-semesters the 26 new nurse graduates endured and learned.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Anna Webb<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe studied for every test, gritted our teeth, put in the hours on those care plans and we practiced our tails off for skill check offs. We celebrated our wins, and we got through our failures and became friends in the process. We not only learned the course material, but we also learned that we are strong, capable, resilient and intelligent people,\u201d Webb shared with the audience of friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continued, \u201cDespite the difficulty of the curriculum, our lives outside this program did not stop. We celebrated many milestones like engagements, marriages and even a baby shower. We had to face the harsh realities of life too. We all share the calling to become nurses and have developed an extensive knowledge of the nursing process, countless skills and lifelong friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 26 students began the five-semester program and culminated the ceremony by lighting their lamps and proudly reciting the Florence Nightingale Pledge, who is the founder of nursing.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Â鶹ֱ²¥ Associate Degree Nursing Graduates December 2024<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Regan Diane Allmon, Seminary                   <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Eli Lane Blackwell, Louin                            <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Stuart Williams Bowman, Petal                    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Kennedy Faith Bryant, Mize                         <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Chandler K Clark, Byram                              <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Breanna Nicole Cooper, Petal                       <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Antoinette Michelle Davis, Laurel                <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Jalisha N Dease, Hattiesburg                         <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Kara Ashlyn East, Purvis                               <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Jaylon D Fleming, Shubuta                           <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Brianna N Gray, Ellisville                             <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Jennifer Ha, Hattiesburg                                <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. Hannah Elizabeth Hillman, McLain             <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. Jerrica D Hinton, Petal                                  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. Amanda Sherree Keyes, Laurel                     <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. Kezia Angenise Keyes, Petal                        <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  17. Sherri Elizabeth Lee, Hattiesburg                 <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  18. Mackenzie Nicole Mauldin, Sumrall            <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  19. Mariah McRaney, Bassfield                          <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  20. Mathews K Newton, Hattiesburg                  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  21. Claire E Polk, Collins                                    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  22. Bridgit A Sears, Ellisville                              <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  23. Taylor G Smith, Soso                                    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  24. Abigail Lynn Vanderford, Louin                   <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  25. Anna Michelle Webb, Petal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  26. Karli E Welch, Mendenhall<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    ELLISVILLE \u2013 To make the \u201ccut\u201d and be accepted into a nursing program is difficult. To graduate can be even more challenging. Some of the 26, new Associate Degree Nursing graduates from Â鶹ֱ²¥ didn\u2019t think they\u2019d graduate because of the obstacles they had to overcome to achieve their dreams. Thirty-one-year-old Jennifer Ha from Oak … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Â鶹ֱ²¥ A.D. Nurse grads overcome obstacles to achieve dreams”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5526"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5535,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526\/revisions\/5535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}