Wiregrass Georgia Technical College held the Spring and Summer 2017 Commencement Exercises on Thursday, July 13 at the UGA Conference Center in Tifton, GA. The ceremony honored 217 students who were awarded their associate degree, diploma or technical certificate of credit as well as 30 GED® graduates. Among those graduating, the college awarded 141 Associate Degrees, 286 Diplomas, and 771 Technical Certificates. Some students received Technical Certificates in multiple areas.
Jana Wojcik was among the graduates to walk across the stage in July. She received her Associates of Science Degree in Nursing and is now a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at South Georgia Medical Center. Jana was nominated by her instructor for the college’s GOAL (Georgia’s Occupational Award of Leadership), student of the year program last fall, and was first runner-up for Wiregrass. During her speech for GOAL, Jana shared her story of struggles from years ago when she entered college on an athletic scholarship, and how life took a different turn than she had planned or hoped for. She shared that in “Oz the Great and Powerful,” Glinda, the Good Witch, enlisted the wizard’s help to save the people from the Wicked Witch. The wizard realizes their odds are terrible and he starts to panic a little. He admits to her that he may not actually be a wizard. Jana further explained, “I think sometimes in life we feel like he did, like we’re a fraud, and we’re not what everyone is expecting. Because of technical education, I was given a second chance. One where I can have hope for the future, a path to financial stability, and a purpose.” While in the nursing program, Jana gained confidence, thanks to the smaller class sizes, she credits the diverse clinical experience she received that helped to shape her career goals and prepared her for any specialization in her field. Closing her GOAL speech, Jana shared that for Dorothy it took sparkly red shoes, and for her it took Wiregrass.
Jana was awarded the South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC) Dedication to Nursing Award during the Allied Health Awards ceremony following graduation. This award is given to a graduate who exemplifies the principles of respect, integrity, professionalism, caring, and excellence. It’s given in honor of those nurses past and present who have helped make SGMC a center of excellence. Now that she’s working and graduated Jana closes her Wiregrass and Wizard of Oz story with this, “I once said that Dorothy had sparkly red shoes to get her back to Kansas, while my tool was Wiregrass, but there was one thing I got wrong. I wasn’t going back to Kansas. I am moving forward to an amplified version. One with more color, new dimensions, and road I had never traveled before leading to a bright future, thanks to Wiregrass. Working as an RN still feels a bit surreal, and I will forever be grateful, for my education and the experiences, opportunities, and security it provides.”
Wiregrass is proud to announce the Spring and Summer 2017 graduates for technical certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees for Douglas students:
Rhonda Anderson, Christian Arceo, Brad Barber, Alena Bassett, Suzanna Bassett, James Benson, Kevin Brown, Anna Calderon, Nathan Clough, Brienna Coney, Cameron Davis, Jamie Day, Craig Diamond, Kourtney Evins, Jasmine Gonzalez, Devante Grady, Galen Griffis, Laura Harvell, Nicholus Henkel, William Hursey, Corbin Lewis, Jhoan Lopez, Kayla McVeigh, Granger Mizell, James Park, Kayla Perry, Matthew Roberts, Cecillia Rojas, Tamika Rozier, Katiria Sanchez, Jamiria Sims, Horace Studstill, Michael Taft, Craig Thomas, Lawton Thomas, Cristal Toledo, Demetria Toombs, Becky Trowell, Sharikca Watts, Lewis Weldon, Phyllis Wesley, Adrieana Wilcox, Brittany Williams, and Quincy Wright