Three Rivers Community College Pinning Ceremony Celebrates 32 Nursing Students on May 24, 2018

Norwich, CT – On Thursday, May 24, Three Rivers Community College held the Fifty-First Nursing Pinning Ceremony. During the ceremony, 32 nursing students received their nursing pin, marking the completion of their nursing degree and serving as a symbol of their readiness to serve as compassionate professional caregivers.

Keynote speaker Mary Lenzini, the President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut, addressed the students telling them that being a nurse is “not just a profession, it is a privilege” and that “we all have an opportunity and a responsibility to make a difference.” Lenzini’s own nursing career spans 50 years, and she concluded her speech by congratulating the students and hoping that they find as great a joy in their nursing lives as she has.

Faculty and administration also spoke to the students, admiring the hard work and determination that brought them to this point. Class speaker Jennifer Netopski read the poem “You Are A Nursing Student” by Anneliese Garrison: “You will learn these things because someday someone's life will depend on you./You are a nursing student, you will graduate------/You will be, in all it's wonder and glory,/a Nurse.”
A recitation of the Nurse’s Pledge came after the presentation of the students’ nursing pins. The students have earned an Associate of Science in Nursing. Upon completion of a licensing examination, the graduates will have earned the credential of Registered Nurse (RN).

Three Rivers graduates’ scores on the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) are consistently above the national average, with a three-year average of over 93%. Graduates also report a 98% job placement on the last three graduate surveys.

The nursing students are:

• Rebecca Almeida, Sterling, CT
• Dawn Bertocki, Griswold, CT
• Michelle Bousquet, North Grosvenordale, CT
• Michaela Bowman, Niantic, CT
• Thomas Campos, Old Saybrook, CT
• Cristy Canova, Norwich, CT
• Jie Chen, Uncasville, CT
• Kyle Deveau, Westerly, RI
• Lesley Dunbar, Ledyard, CT
• Kimberly Fitch, Plainfield, CT
• Keila Garrido, Willimantic, CT
• Brandy Gonzales, Oakdale, CT       
• Jennifer Goyette, Plainfield, CT
• Mahogany Johnson, New London, CT
• Sierra Kniskern, North Stonington, CT
• Blaine Meek, Groton, CT
• Aleck Mikulka, East Lyme, CT
• Meagan Muriel, Uncasville, CT
• Jennifer Netopski, Oakdale, CT
• Kara O’Keefe, Portland, CT
• Amanda Pearce, Chaplin, CT
• Sarah Pratts, New London, CT
• Kelli Rodgers, Groton, CT
• Marisa Rondina, Gales Ferry, CT
• Anna Sekula, Putnam, CT
• Rachel Shafer, Windham, CT
• Jennifer Smith, Madison, CT
• Cassandra Stimson, Canterbury, CT
• Angela Stohlberg, Woodstock, CT
• Alexander Timinskas, Old Saybrook, CT
• Leigh Walkoviak, Groton, CT
• Colleen Yarchak, Windham, CT

Three Rivers Community College is an accessible, affordable, and culturally diverse two-year college located in Norwich, Connecticut, with an off-campus instructional center at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton. Knowing that the educational goals of its students are as diverse as their backgrounds, Three Rivers provides a broad range of credit and non-credit liberal arts, sciences, nursing, engineering, career and technical courses. The student population consists of more than 4,300 enrolled students each semester. To learn more about what Three Rivers has to offer, visit www.threerivers.edu.