Volunteer State Community College held two graduation ceremonies Saturday in order to provide social distancing for the graduates. The morning and afternoon ceremonies were attended by hundreds of students. Graduation was limited to the graduates and officiants from the college. Family and friends were able to watch the event live online. Last spring, graduation was an entirely virtual event.
The first group of graduates in the Volunteer State Community College Nursing program celebrated a virtual pinning ceremony recently. The event was put together as a video highlighting the students and their accomplishments. Seven students from the Gallatin campus and eleven students from the Livingston Center each earned an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Nursing. It prepares them to apply to sit for licensure as a Registered Nurse. Thus far, eleven students have taken the NCLEX and all eleven have passed.
Students, family, and well-wishers filled the Pickel Field House on Saturday to celebrate Volunteer State Community College fall commencement. Austin Bonebrake of Portland was named Outstanding Fall Graduate at the ceremony. Faculty nominators cited his overcoming adversity with resilience. Bonebrake was in a sledding accident that broke his C-6 vertebrae and severely damaged his C-5 vertebrae. He came to Vol State quadriplegic, with some limited use of his hands.
The Volunteer State Community College Fall Graduate Awards have been announced. Congratulations to the winners.
Khandis Bush of Murfreesboro has received the Hal R. Ramer Award. The honor goes to a graduate who has faced extreme adversity and succeeded because of fortitude in the face of adversity.
