American Career College-Los Angeles celebrated its seventh cohort of associate degree in nursing students at a pinning ceremony this October. Seton Hall at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles was filled with the friends and family of the 31 graduates.
Class valedictorian and Ellen M. Lewis scholarship recipient Mary Grace Lomiteng expressed how thankful she was to all the people who supported her during her time in school, especially her cohort.
"My classmates and I have each other to be thankful for. We have bonded and shared this challenging experience together," Lomiteng said. "For almost two years we have sat in this classroom together, learn from our teachers and each other. Many of us were in school, worked and had a family to take care of. We spent hundreds of hours in clinical learning form our patients and sharing those experiences with each other. Most importantly we had each other for encouragement and support throughout our program. We all worked so hard and I know it will all be worth it because nursing is a rewarding career."
Fellow class speaker Christopher Resplandor brought lots of laughs and reflected on the past two years with his fellow cohort.
"What's up? It's looking like a proper celebration. Look at these ladies, they're looking beautiful through and through. Give them a round of applause. Look at these fellas, they're alright. Let's give them some love too," Resplandor said. "In all seriousness, our journey here at ACC has been a long one but we've learned a lot. Nursing school is no joke, we have to know the human body down to the cellular level, we've been taught how to speak with interprofessional team members to simplify patient care and we've been taught how to simplify those terms so that patients and their families can understand what we've been taught. In the end its always about the patient...and charting. Give it up for Cohort 7!"
Newly pinned Adrienne Nevarez said that becoming a registered nurse was just beginning for her.
"Today means that there are more doors opening," Nevarez said. "ACC was the first door and I know that there's more beyond that. I can't wait to continue to pursue this career path and hopefully one day become a Nurse Practioner and open my own practice."
Congratulations Cohort 7! Photos from your pinning can be found on our Facebook page!
