Pinning Cibola’s future nurses

GRANTS, N.M. – New Mexico State University Grants branch celebrated its students that completed a rigorous and demanding four-and-a-half-year long course to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The eight-member class received their nursing pins on December 1 inside the NMSU-G auditorium.

Tiffany Candelaria, Regina Ford, Melanie Garcia, Shandel Jaramillo-Valdez, Shunnadene Maria, Katelyn Michael, Noah Sedillo, and Jessica Stelly successfully completed their courses through NMSU to reach this momentous achievement in their lives, through all the pain and long nights studying, this dedicated cohort is the future of nursing in Grants, Cibola County, and New Mexico as a whole.

All of these students began their coursework before the pandemic, and just as they entered the part of their program which allowed them to practice nursing hands-on, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. On top of choking hospital resources across the state and putting more patients in the hospital, social distancing rules complicated these students’ journeys. Despite the challenges raised by COVID-19, on top of an already grueling course load, these students refused to give up. Through loss and hardship, this cohort of future nurses shine as a reminder that anything is possible with enough determination.

The complications of COVID-19 were not lost on Thomas Whelan, CEO of Cibola General Hospital, who said, “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘drinking from a firehose?’ Well, these students have been doing that daily, and now they get the joy of stepping out into the next level and having the firehose start all over again… The firehose challenge was before the pandemic. Our current nurses and doctors are dealing with Delta and it’s a challenge for all of out staff at CGH.” Whelan then encouraged the cohort, “Your employer will understand that you’ll have plenty of questions. That’s okay.” He encouraged these new graduates to come and use their talents at Cibola General Hospital in Grants.

Dr. Teresa Leon of the NMSU School of Nursing explained that the NMSU Grants campus is special because of its smaller size, allowing for the cohorts to be more like family than peers. She explained that other nursing cohorts are much larger and don’t allow for close connections like the one made by the students at NMSU-G. “It’s unique to have a small cohort that really bonds together.”

Through the course of their education, three members of this nursing cohort lost family members, but they persevered and completed their education.

Students were pinned by their family, with many students giving their family members roses. One member of the cohort, Noah Sedillo, was pinned by the other members of his cohort, saying that they all struggled together and being pinned by them was the same as being pinned by family.

Whelan said, “You have to be strong and be willing to take chances… When young students graduate, they hold a commencement ceremony – the kicking off of the new phase. This is more of a recognition for what these ladies and young man have accomplished… I know you will all be great nurses who make this world a better place.”