Minnesota West Worthington campus celebrates graduates
May 13—WORTHINGTON — More than 580 students graduated from Minnesota West Community and Technical College during the span of a week, culminating with three ceremonies Friday at the Worthington campus.
The local events included the Peace Officer Skills Certificate ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, during which 12 students were honored for completion of their second and final year of higher education in the law enforcement program. The graduates will now take their post boards and can begin working as peace officers once they pass.
Minnesota West Peace Officer Program Coordinator Ronald Schwint said with the current shortage of employees in law enforcement, this spring's graduates shouldn't have any difficulty finding work. In fact, there are openings in all of the communities represented on the program's advisory board, he added.
Students in the law enforcement program completed the knowledge portion of their training during the first year, with the second year focused on skills, as well as cognitive and critical thinking.
Schwint offered several pieces of advice to the graduating class seated before him inside the Minnesota West Center for Health and Wellness Friday morning.
"In our field, we will deal with a variety of individuals," he said. "Give respect to everyone."
"Don't be afraid to fail — and fail often," he added. "Take risks.
"Lift up the downtrodden, because those are the majority we deal with in the field.
"Never give up."
The nearly hour-long ceremony included a video compilation of the last year, giving attendees a glimpse of what students did during the skills portion of the program. Students were seen at the shooting range, visiting Prairie Elementary, taking part in the King Turkey Day parade, performing a series of actions from using a billy club to hitting and kneeing an individual, and getting zapped with a taser.
Schwint said the class simulates up to 75% of the real-life situations officers can find themselves in.
"I think we've got a really good group," Schwint said of the graduates, noting that several of them already had job offers pending their post boards and several more had interviews scheduled.
Friday afternoon, 28 students took part in a pinning ceremony — one class of 14 students receiving their practical nursing degree and the other class of 14 receiving their associate's degree in nursing. All will now need to take their nursing exams, and some will need to complete their preceptorship before becoming licensed practical nurses or registered nurses, according to Dawn Gordon, Minnesota West's dean of nursing.
Gordon said nursing students make up the largest share of students attending Minnesota West Community & Technical College, and called them leaders who are defined by their past experiences.
The classes included a mix of traditional and non-traditional students, with mothers, full-time job holders and career change individuals among them. They worked hard to get to Friday's ceremony, and Gordon said it is because of them that Minnesota West was deemed the top nursing program in Minnesota. Graduating students went through two accreditation processes during their years at Minnesota West.
Marsha Fick, student speaker, said she worked 24 years in an office setting as a medical coder, and returned to college at age 45 to earn her nursing degree. She said it was the second-hardest thing she's ever done — parenting was the first.
Erica Heidelberger, faculty member, told students to never underestimate the impact of their compassion, and encouraged them to offer comfort and inspire hope. She thanked graduates for "choosing a profession that makes the world a better place."
The college hosted a 7 p.m. ceremony Friday to confer degrees upon 185 graduates at the Worthington campus. Commencement speaker was Tiffany Hurst, a physical therapist for the Good Samaritan Society.
It was the final graduation ceremony scheduled among the five campuses, with the Jackson campus kicking off the commencement schedule on May 2. There were 137 graduates from the Jackson campus, 83 from the Canby campus, 63 from the Granite Falls campus, 88 from the Pipestone and Luverne campuses and 25 graduates from Minnesota West's online program.
