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Crowder Nevada finishes banner academic year
Crowder College's Commencement ceremony was held on May 21, at the Main Campus in Neosho. Nineteen graduates, faculty, and staff attended the formal event, but according to Campus Director, Donna Thomas, Crowder Nevada graduated approximately 50 students from the immediate area. Degrees earned range from an Associate of Science in Nursing to an Associate of Arts degree in Teaching, Social Work, or Business Administration.
One student from Lamar, Nancy Lewis, earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Office Administration with a perfect 4.0 GPA. "We just completed our fourth full year of the R.N. program," Thomas says, "and we are also graduating a number of students who are transferring to other universities this fall. We have had a fantastic year with several of our graduates earning distinctive honors."
Darla Woody, a student from El Dorado Springs was the keynote speaker at the Honors' Breakfast for graduates from every constituency of the College receiving honors. Woody was selected as the outstanding student in the Honors Program and was recognized again during the Commencement ceremony.
Selection for the Honors Program is made when a student enrolls for the first semester and requires high placement test scores and completion of a requisite number of honors courses. Woody excelled in all areas of the program and earned an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies.
Kori Bower, a student from Nevada, was selected as the Nevada Campus Outstanding Graduate for Spring 2011. She was recognized during both the Honors' Breakfast and Commencement for her high academic achievement. Bower, a social work major who will be entering Pittsburg State University this fall, served as student ambassador on the Nevada campus during the 2010-'11 academic year, was the Campus Leader of Phi Theta Kappa, the national two-year college honor organization, was president of the Student Activities Committee, and was also selected as a first team member on the All-Missouri Academic Team. Bower received a scholarship for her academic achievement during festivities held in Jefferson City, on March 30.
Crowder Nevada also graduated 25 new nurses, and awards for distinction were given at the Pinning ceremony held on Friday, May 20.
J.D. Melech, a Nevada student, was awarded the James T. Payne Award for a perfect 4.0 on a 4.0 scale grade point average for his nursing degree as well as his Associate of Arts degree. Cliff Hewitt, from Humansville, Mo., received the Representative RN Award; Linsey Brown of Nevada was the Outstanding Nurse Graduate, and the MLN Outstanding Student Nurse Award went to Heather Harms of Schell City.
"The accomplishments of our students make us very proud," Thomas said. "As we continue to grow, add new programs, and develop consortium and articulation agreements with participating universities, our students have more opportunities to excel and to be recognized for their talents and achievements. Our students live in the area, work here, and pay taxes -- all year around. They are improving their own lives, but also improving the lives of their families. The changes we see in them are just so exciting."
This past academic year was the first for elementary education students wanting to finish the baccalaureate degree through Missouri State University in Nevada. It was the first year that a local student was selected to participate in the All-Missouri-Academic Team competition, a very prestigious honor, and Woody was also the first student from the area to be selected as the Outstanding Student in the Honors Program. It's the first year that the theatre class has performed at the Nevada community theatre in proud support of the Community Council on the Performing Arts.
Crowder students also raised several thousand dollars to support fellow students in need, as well as to support area charitable organizations, including the CCPA. Starting this year, all of our incoming freshmen must complete a "Service Seed" requirement of doing a minimum of six hours of community service efforts. "Crowder truly is a great place to start," said Thomas, "and graduation is a good time for us to applaud the hard work of our students and to celebrate their success."
Area graduates include Dean Millman from Bronaugh; Michelle Richard from Collins, Keilah Forgey from Deerfield; Simone Smith, Shelly Sorden, Jamie Huff, Kay Warren, and Darla Woody from El Dorado Springs; Katie Budd from Hume; Nancy Lewis from Lamar; Amy Moenning from Lockwood; Cody Jenkins from Moundville; Celia Biles, Travis Raney, Ada Kutina, Erin Beasley, Kori Bower, Richard Brockman, Linsey Brown, Brian Burlingame, Sara Chrisenbery, Zach Clapper, Rhonda Dobson, Jenny Ford, Brooke Gregory, Jennifer Langford, John Melech, Sharlyn Stanfield, and Darlinda Toothaker from Nevada; Karen Champlin from Rich Hill; Paulean Hawkins and Heather Harms from Schell City; and Dorice Blanchard from Sheldon.