Nevada State College graduates its largest class ever
Great moments call for a selfie.
So Nevada State College President Bart Patterson paused during the school’s spring 2014 commencement to allow students to snap one.
“You have one minute to do a selfie,” Patterson said as he turned his back to the crowd and took a photo of himself with graduates and their families and friends in the background.
“Thirty seconds,” he joked as he turned to face the audience.
Nevada State College graduated its largest class of more than 330 Saturday at Henderson Pavilion. Several students graduated with honors in education, nursing and liberal arts and sciences. Liberal arts and sciences degrees included business, psychology, biology, law enforcement and others.
The 10-year-old Henderson school is the only comprehensive four-year college in the state and places emphasis on serving diverse and under-served students.
Its initial enrollment of 177 students has grown to 3,300 today. More than 2,400 degrees have been granted.
“We’ve almost outgrown the pavilion,” said associate professor of sociology Gwen Sharp, who received the 2o14 teaching award from the Board of Regents.
Two professors are honored annually — one from UNLV, University of Nevada, Reno, Desert Research Institute or NSC, and another from the state’s remaining colleges.
Sharp will become an associate dean in the fall and will work on the college’s Gateway to Completion program, which helps students succeed in completing general education requirements.
NSC senior honors student Josh Ranck received a Regents Scholar Award. Ranck, who holds a 3.8 GPA, is majoring in English and minoring in psychology. A former Realtor, he had not considered higher education until his first child was born, but now plans to pursue a doctorate degree in English with an emphasis in theory.
Courtney Farese, who studied nursing, gave the college’s student speech.
Farese was a mother of one when she entered school, but during her course of studies got married, had another daughter and is now expecting a son.
“I did homework after the kids were in bed and became a master of time management,” Farese said.
She hopes to become an emergency room nurse in a veterans hospital before returning to school to earn a masters degree in nursing administration.
Katrina Peninoy, a biology student, was a student “spotlight” chosen by the school.
Peninoy, the first in her family to graduate from college, began taking classes at NSC to fulfill pre-pharmacy requirements while she was a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During the course of her studies, she decided to remain at the college for its personalized approach and small class sizes.
“I had no intention in pursuing a degree at NSC, but I loved the learning atmosphere NSC provided which helped me become a mature and confident student,” Peninoy said.
She will begin a dual degree in pharmacy and business administration at Roseman University of Health Sciences in Henderson this summer.
President’s medals were awarded to community members Paul Schiffman and Ande Christenson for their local leadership and commitment to the college.
Schiffman helped found the Adelson Educational Campus and Christenson is a former teacher with the Clark County School District who advocates for students with special needs.
Contact Kristy Totten at ktotten@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3809. Find her on Twitter: @kristy_tea.
