Thursday 28th March 2024

Against the backdrop of an unprecedented pandemic, State Fair Community College held an online pinning ceremony May 15 for its Health Science students who had achieved their educational goals in nursing, radiology, sonography, dental hygiene or medical information technology. As each student’s name was announced by the respective program director, parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, children, aunts, uncles, cousins or partners did the pinning.
A news release says nine nursing students had the distinction of being the first to be pinned and to graduate from the SFCC-Clinton campus, including: Kristina Conaway, Shayla Sommer and Shelby Williams, of Clinton; Zachary Groder and Stephanie Long, of Warrensburg; and Chelsea Riley and Shiree Sherrill, of Warsaw.
The opportunity for these students to reach their educational goals close to home and strengthen the area healthcare workforce was made possible because of a donation in 2018 from Golden Valley Memorial Hospital (GVMH) and funds from the “MO Excels” grant championed by Governor Mike Parson. This support, along with other clinical partnerships, allowed SFCC to expand its nursing program to Clinton.
So far, the Clinton graduates have indicated they will be working at facilities such as GVMH in Clinton, Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, the Missouri Veterans’ Home in Warrensburg, Citizen’s Memorial Hospital in Bolivar and the Warsaw-Lincoln Ambulance District.