Cabarrus College of Health Sciences had the winter commencement ceremony on Dec. 17, 2010. Dr. Dianne Snyder, chancellor of the college welcomed family members and friends.
Sandra M. Benfield, M.Ed., RN, director of service excellence for Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast, provided the keynote address. Benfield said graduates will help write the next chapter in health care. She encouraged the graduates to ěnever lose sight of the fact that taking care of patients and families is a privilege, and that each encounter they have is with someoneís most cherished loved one.î
Benfield also discussed the role of technology in health care and encouraged graduates to ěremember that technology is a means to an end; never let technology replace the human element.î
In closing, she challenged the graduates to keep a studentís spirit by always being a listener; to learn from everyone they meet; and to treat each patient and encounter as if their passing or failing depended on it.
Degrees were conferred on the following graduates from the Allied Health Division: Jamie Roach, summa cum laude, Salisbury, bachelor of science.
Graduates from the Louise Harkey School of Nursing: Receiving the associate degree were Katie Davis, cum laude; Kayla Kelley, cum laude; Brandy Trexler and Rachel Witt, all of Salisbury; Michelle Deaton, magna cum laude, Mooresville; Amanda Haney, cum laude; Michelle Hardin, Debra Ponder and Jenna Storey, all of Kannapolis; Dana Hinson; Dana Lindsay, cum laude; and Michelle Sapp, all of Rockwell; and Susan Wilhelm, Faith;.
Receiving the bachelor of science degree in nursing were James Abernathy Jr., Kannapolis; and Sherry Smith, Rockwell.