Cristina Carreon|El Paso Times
El Paso colleges and universities are planning for graduation ceremonies with extra reason to celebrate atTexas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso had an extra reason to celebrate.
The university is celebratingthe 10th anniversary ofthe Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing and invited and will invite alumni back to campus for a series of special events leading up to the School's May 8 graduation ceremony and there will also be some community events.
Texas Tech nursing student John Kirtly always wanted to pursue and career in the military and the medical field since he was young. After graduation this month, Kirtly hopes to work at an El Paso hospital to assist with COVID-19 patients. He also hasfuture plans of working as a nurse for the U.S. Navy.
"Now that I get to apply the knowledge that I've learned from nursing school to real life scenarios, I can say I've found my purpose in life," Kirtly said.
More: El Paso nursing students fight fear, stress to help save lives during COVID-19 pandemic
The School of Nursing offers two undergraduate programs and one graduate program; for undergrads, there is the accelerated Bachelor's of Science in Nursing program (ABSN) andalso, students with an associate'scanget theirBachelor's degree in Nursing at Texas Tech. For graduate students, there is a Master's program in nursing leadership.
The school started out in 2011with 30 students in the ABSN program. Today, the schooladmits as many as 80 studentsin the fall and in the spring tothe ABSN program.
"Why that's important to know about the ABSN program,is that it's those 80 students who have never been nurses before that actually adds new nurses to El Paso and beyond," Woods said, adding there are as many as 220 total studentsenrolled in the School's ABSN programat any given time.
About 90% of the School of Nursing's students stay local after graduation, Woods said.
"West Texas already is experiencing a significant nursing shortage and it's projected that by 2030, that nursing shortage could be as high as 5,000 nurses that weneed in addition to what we currently have," Woods said.
Approximately 70% of the School's students are Hispanic, most are the first in their immediate families to attend college and the average age of the School's students are 26 years old, Woods said.
Over the last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Texas Tech nursing students learned how to care for patients via clinicals at hospitals.
The school offered students the option tostep out of the nursing program temporarily until it was safer to return.
"We had virtually no takers, I mean way less than 10 students elected to do that, and those students did it for special reasons within their families, typically," Woods said.
More: UTEP: Graduates can bring up to 8 guests to in-person commencement ceremonies in May
Texas Tech UHSC El Paso graduation plans
Note: All graduation ceremonies will take place atthe Plaza Theatre 125 W. Mills Ave..
Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing Saturday, May 8 at 2 p.m.
Paul Foster School of Medicine Friday, May 21 at 6 p.m.
Guests will need to follow strict COVID-19 protocols the Plaza Theater has in place, such as wearing masks and social distancing, university officials said.
University of Texas at El Paso
UTEP announcedthe university would allow graduating students to bring up to eight guests to two in-person commencement ceremonies at 7 p.m. May 14 and 15 at the Sun Bowl.
Theceremony May 14 will recognize bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates and candidates in the Business Administration, Education and Liberal Arts colleges.
On May 15, graduates and candidates in the Engineering,Health Sciences and Science and Nursing and Pharmacy schools will be recognized.
Social distancing will be implemented amongfamily groups. Face masks will be required and hand-sanitizing stations will be set up throughout the area. Sun Bowl seating will not be permitted to exceed 50%, "even ifevery graduate brings eight guests," a UTEP news release states.
The event is free, although tickets will be required.
No physical contact betweenthe graduates and those onstage will be permitted.
El Paso Community College
El Paso Community College will offer a virtual Spring 2021 commencementceremony this year at 6 p.m. May 22, which will be broadcaston EPCC TV andon the EPCC website, according to an EPCC news release.
About 2,000 EPCC students are expected to walk the stage.
“Despite the challenges of the past year, our graduates have shown that with hard work and perseverance goals can be accomplished even in the most challenging of circ*mstances," EPCC President William Serrata said in the release. “We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with our students."
The college also offered a virtual ceremony in December for all three semesters in2020.
Commencement candidates should receive an email with instructions detailing how they can be recognized on an official slide with theirphoto, and have their names read during the ceremony.
More: El Paso high schools plan in-person graduation ceremonies in June
More: UTEP opens vaccination clinic to public, plans for 2,932 first doses this weekend
Cristina Carreon maybe reached at ccarreon@elpasotimes.com and @Cris_carreon90 on Twitter.
