Wayne Community College students honored at medical pinning ceremony

“The pinning ceremony highlights the end of one journey and the beginning of another,” WCC Medical Assisting Program Director and Instructor Heather Odom said during the ceremony. “This has been a long and intense journey for the graduating class, but you did it.”

WCC Medical Laboratory Technology Program Supervisor Cole Eslyn noted that the graduates are the future of the healthcare field. “Each of you now has the ability to change people’s lives, whether that is by providing life-saving blood in the lab or by providing care and compassion to your patients when they come in the doctor’s office unsure of what is ailing them,” she said.

The graduates and their programs, listed by city of residence, are:

Dudley
Linzy De Jesus Merida – Medical Assisting
Micheal Griffin – Medical Laboratory Technology
Chelsie Hartley – Medical Assisting
Nalleli Vega Huerta – Medical Assisting

Goldsboro
Kay-Lin Bethune – Medical Assisting
Izabella Bush Flores – Medical Assisting
Teosha Cox – Medical Laboratory Technology
Teosha Faison – Medical Assisting
Danielle Faucette – Medical Laboratory Technology
Yuliana Gonzalez-Ramirez – Medical Assisting
Christina Mock – Medical Laboratory Technology
Amber Shumate – Medical Assisting

La Grange
Kia Xiang – Medical Laboratory Technology

Mount Olive
Seth Albright – Medical Laboratory Technology

Pikeville
Samantha Beeken – Medical Assisting
Clara Trejo – Medical Assisting

Seven Springs
Yaquelin Carmargo-Ortiz – Medical Assisting

Smithfield
Sandra Rodriguez – Medical Laboratory Technology

Snow Hill
Prisilia Gonzalez Garcia – Medical Assisting

Awards were given during the ceremony for academic and clinical excellence with each recipient receiving a plaque.

The Academic Excellence Award was given to a student in each program with the highest grade point average upon completion of their program. Shumate received this award for Medical Assisting, and Rodriguez was the recipient for Medical Laboratory Technology.

The Clinical Excellence Award went to students who excelled during the clinical practicum portion of their programs, chosen by their clinical observers and faculty members. The award went to Carmargo-Ortiz for Medical Assisting and Albright for Medical Laboratory Technology.

WCC’s Medical Laboratory Technology program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and its graduates may take the national certification examination given by the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

The College’s Medical Assisting program offers an associate degree or certificate, with graduates of the degree program becoming eligible to take the American Association of Medical Assistants’ Certification Examination. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Learn more about Medical Laboratory Technology and Medical Assisting on WCC’s website.