By Sydney Holder Riverbend News
RIVEROAK Technical College held the 2020-2021 Pharmacy Technician Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, July 29, at 6 p.m., at the Community Presbyterian Church, located at 830 Pinewood Dr. SW, in Live Oak.
Denise Mosley welcomed the audience to the graduation, Tynechia White led the Pledge of Allegiance and Alondra Ash introduced special guests.
In attendance from Suwannee County Schools were: Ted Roush, Superintendent of Suwannee County Schools; Mary Keen, Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education; Julie Ulmer, Coordinator of Student Services; Vice-Chairman Jerry Taylor, District 1; Norman Crawford, District 2 and Ed daSilva, District 4. Also in attendance was special guest speaker, Dr. John Nicely from the Advent Christian Village Pharmacy. Graduate Christian Poole gave Nicely an introduction.
"No matter where you find yourself in life, look for opportunities to help others hold arms with you to finish the race, become something worthwhile," Nicely said. "God has been good to you class, be good for Him. Be a person that He's proud of, be a person that your family's proud of. Your family members here this afternoon have sacrificed everything for you. Now it's time for you, not to do it for yourselves, but to be a service to others wherever the opportunity arises."
Following Nicely's speech, Katie Miller, Director/Instructor of the Pharmacy Technician Program, introduced the graduates.
"Last year was a difficult year, we all went through it," Miller said. "Very difficult especially for last year's class. COVID hit the time they were supposed to start clinicals and everyone was scared, especially hospitals and pharmacies, to let the students in...so I asked the students, 'we can extend the program or you can go longer hours during clinicals. I don't want to put a lot on you guys, but I want you to make the decision' and every one of those students said, 'we'll do what we have to do to graduate on time,' so the Class of 2020 put forward four 10-hour days of clinicals in a row, and they finished their clinical hours to graduate on time...The Class of 2021, COVID hit as well, they were in there with COVID tests and vaccines. Pharmacies were very crowded at that time, but they put all in to helping pharmacies, so thank you all for your hard work in helping out in our community."
Miller took the time to present deserving students with special awards. For Outstanding Academic Achievement, Christian Poole, Class of 2020 and Kimberly Tucker, Class of 2021 received the award. Miller shared that during Tucker's schooling, she was hospitalized due to COVID for several weeks and, during that time, lost her mother who was hospitalized in a different facility.
"Never at any moment did she give up, she stayed over hours and hours to make up time and went in on Fridays and Saturdays to make up her clinical hours," Miller said. "She never gave up and she still maintained the highest grade in the class."
Retail externship performance was presented to two graduates who are currently working as registered and certified pharmacy technicians. Zoe Brantley, Class of 2020, who was unable to attend due to work and Samantha Napoleon, Class of 2021, who is working at Live Oak Walgreen's and transferring to a branch in Mississippi. Institutional externship performance was presented to Christian Poole, Class of 2020, who is working at Lake City Medical Center on nightshifts and Denise Mosley, Class of 2021, who is working as a CphT at Cheek and Scott in Lake City. Poole also received a medallion for excellent attendance.
Roush and Keen then commenced the presentation of the certificates.
The following graduates from the Class of 2020 received their certificates: Alondra Ash, Christian Poole and Angelic Smith. (Not in attendance were Zoe Brantley, Jessica Childs and Rebecca Scocca). The following graduates from the Class of 2021 received their certificates: Jaqueline Hall, Ashley Hascue, Denise Mosley, Samantha Napoleon, Kimberly Tucker, Tynechia White and Natalie Williams.
The students took the Oath of a Pharmacy Technician before graduate Kimberly Tucker delivered the benediction. The students then presented Miller with a gift, a decoration for a wall that reads 'Pharmacy Technician' with all of the Class of 2021's signatures. The ceremony was closed with the academic processional.