TVCC press release
Nursing school is a demanding, yet rewarding, endeavor. For the first time at Trinity Valley Community College’s Health Science Center in Kaufman, a special group of hard-working students is being inducted into a society that recognizes their exemplary commitment to excellence.
On Sunday, March 23, the Health Science Center inducted the inaugural class to Alpha Delta Nu – the national honors society for associate degree nursing. Sixty-one members were inducted in a well-attended ceremony at Grace Fellowship Church in Kaufman County. The HSC’s chapter of Alpha Delta Nu will be called Alpha Tau.
Judy Callicoatt, Alpha Tau’s advisor, said the idea to start a chapter has been on the table for several years. She said she attended a convention several years ago where the national organization was discussed and she began imagining the possibilities of the HSC being involved. Alpha Tau is one of 76 local chapters of Alpha Delta Nu in the nation.
“My eyes lit up and I just thought, ‘We need this!’” Callicoatt said. “Nursing school is different to begin with because it’s so challenging. So to be inducted into this organization is a real honor. These students have demonstrated skills in organization and time management and have been able to balance their personal lives with the course requirements of lecture, skills and clinical.”
To be eligible, students must meet several criteria, including maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or better; making no less than a “B” in any nursing course; and being involved in the planning and execution of a health promotion project in the community during their third semester of school. Several students, she said, held a health fair at the TVCC Terrell campus recently. Others opted to teach hand-washing classes and poison control awareness to area school children.
“The candidates picked a topic they felt was important to meet their needs,” Callicoatt said, “and then they planned everything and implemented it.”
The March induction ceremony was unique, she added, in that each inductee got to choose a special person in their life to pin them as official members of the honors society. “It was an emotional ceremony, just a very neat thing,” Callicoatt said.
In addition to receiving a membership pin, Alpha Tau inductees will wear special, apricot honor cords at graduation and will receive a sticker acknowledging their accomplishment on their diploma.
Inaugural inductees into the group are: Lindsey Anderson; Jannifer Arnold; Tensae Asfaw; Maria Bailey; Sara Baker; Patricia Beville; Sarah Blades; Chelsea Boshart; Monica Boyd; Crystal Bozard; Ashley Butler; Stacy Callaway; Marilyn Calloway; Stephanie Chandler; Vanessa Chavez; Nancy Cowden; Brandy Davis; Candice DeRossett; April Duke; Dana Edmonds; Amanda Fugitt; Jacinda Futch; Lorena Garcia; DeLisa Gillispie; Danielle Gleason; Jana Griffin; Jennifer Halbert; Cristina Hernandez; Jessica Martin Hill; Peggy Clark-Holden; Kashaelyn Hollins-Henderson; Amber Honeycutt; Shannon Houston; Jessica Jacobs; Julie James; Brandy Jenkins Garcia; Jacqueline King; Chelsey Kinnaird; Markesha Lewis; Jennifer Matthews; Debra Mikulik; Brittney Milligan; Hayli Zanolini Mitchell; Summer Moeller; Danny Nail; Melanie Nelson; Chidimma Okolo; Chelsea Ragsdale; Donna Rawlins; Laurielee Richmond; Allie Rotenberry; Nina Sallee; Courtney Shook; Brian Smith; Lori Smith; Dionne Staten; Leslie Steadman; Leigh Stokes; Brittanie Sutton; Stefanie Williams; and Pamela Wood.