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Community College of Rhode Island
Nursing grads honored at pinning ceremony
New CCRI President Ray Di Pasquale addressed 58 new nursing graduates at a pinning ceremony last month by recognizing not only the academics they have mastered, but also the arduous schedules each must maintain.
“I bet you worked hard to get here today,” said Di Pasquale. “In fact, why don’t all the nursing graduates stand up? … Okay, now anyone of you who thinks the last two years of studying and clinicals were easy, feel free to sit down. Any takers?”
All the graduates continued to stand.
“I bet it wasn’t just school that was hard,” Di Pasquale continued. “I bet that many of you have families you take care of. Most of you, I’m guessing, work for a living—some of you more than 40 hours a week—while you stretch your schedule to make time for your education. No wonder none of you are sitting right now. You probably don’t remember how to sit down.”
Di Pasquale also recognized the nursing students’ families for the critical support they have provided while their loved ones completed the more than 80 college credits of classroom, laboratory and clinical experiences. With both a one-year Licensed Practical Nurse educational track and a two-year Registered Nurse educational track, CCRI is the largest producer of nursing program graduates in the state of RI.
The latest graduates include:
Chepachet: Kama Gentile, Karen Van Pelt
Coventry: Jennifer Capron, Melissa Horibin, Lesley Ward
Cranston: Jeanne Brown, Amy Gesualdi, Denise Poulin, Nascenza Souza
Cumberland: John Cunningham
East Greenwich: Kathleen Mills
East Providence: Sally Sousa
Greenville: Lorene Dexter
Harrisville: Kimberly Toste
Hope Valley: Carrie Wilcox
Johnston: Sivinath Oung
Manville: Tammy Holleran
Middletown: Marie Sanchez
Narragansett: Jodie Stanley
North Providence: Anna Cukier
North Scituate: Corinne McLaughlin, Jessica Nickerson
North Smithfield: Danielle Harry
Pascoag: Deborah Yasick
Pawtucket:
Margarida Costa, Maria Dagraca, Shirley Johnson, Antoinette Kai, Kim Keenan, Rosabel Magalhaes, Sylvester Makor, Susie Pierre
Portsmouth:
Mary Arkins
Providence:
Georgina Adu-Gyamfi, Lorinna Anderson, Olusola Awokoya, Tara Brown, Nina Davies, Lisa Gazin, Nadege Hilliard, Michele Lopes, Lesley Suchite, Aramide Taiwo
Riverside:
Karen Winchell
Smithfield: Richard Bolvin
Warren: Christina Violett
Warwick: Melanie Alves, Claudia McClaren, Kerri Lyn Pelletier, Jessica Schmidt
West Warwick: Yehia El-Araby, Susanna Stranahan
Woonsocket: Shane Cotter
Attleboro, MA: Susan Toffling
Blackstone, MA: Roger McClure
Fall River, MA: Paula Kiely
Seekonk, MA: Melissa Newman
Danielson, CT: Jean Moreau
