For her fellow classmates graduating from Butler County Community College’s two-year career program in registered nursing, “The world is your oyster,” 25-year-old Meredith Morrison said.

“Any job, any specialty, anything that you could want to do as a new graduate,” the Butler resident said, “is open right now.”

BC3 in 2023 has a record 74 graduates in a program that began 50 years ago.

The college May 11 awarded pins to 61 graduates from 11 Pennsylvania counties and from Ohio and New Jersey who completed the associate in applied science degree program in Nursing, R.N., offered on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. BC3 on May 12 awarded pins to 13 graduates from four Pennsylvania counties who completed the program at BC3 @ Brockway in Jefferson County.

BC3’s Class of 2023 in Nursing, R.N., included the first six Grove City College students to earn the degree from BC3 as a result of a 2019 partnership established between the two institutions of higher education.

Grove City College students in their sophomore and junior years pursue 41 credits in nine technical and clinical courses through BC3 while also taking classes in Grove City College’s Charles Jr. and Betty Johnson School of Nursing.

“It’s a historic day for Grove City College,” said Paul McNulty, president of Grove City College and guest speaker at the May 11 pinning ceremony on BC3’s main campus.

BC3 registered nursing graduates represent the Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Jefferson, Lancaster, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango and Westmoreland.

Registered nurse is a high-priority occupation in each of those counties. Annual demand for registered nurses through 2028 in those counties is expected to range from 100 to 1,716, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis.

BC3’s Class of 2023 in Nursing, R.N., includes seven students who participated in a tuition assistance program sponsored by Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Cabot; and seven who participated in a similar program offered in BC3 @ Brockway’s service area and sponsored by Penn Highlands Healthcare, DuBois.

Students completed 650 hours of clinical experiences and program-ending preceptorships — a “readiness assessment” in which they are paired with and mentored by a nurse, said Heather Darrington, a BC3 faculty member and instructor of second-level students.

Clinical experiences begin in a student’s first semester at BC3, Darrington said, and were held in the past year at Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh; Allegheny Valley Hospital, Natrona Heights; Butler Memorial Hospital; and Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Cabot.

To attain licensure, graduates of BC3’s Nursing, R.N., program take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. An average of 86% of BC3’s first-time NCLEX-RN test-takers in the past three years have been successful, said Dr. Patty Annear, dean of BC3’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.

“We are very prepared,” said graduate Hailey Metzger, 20, of Butler. “We have clinicals. We have simulations labs that prepare us for specific situations.”

The program, graduate Paige McKain, 21, of Butler, said, “is very, very hard. But BC3 gets you to use your critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is very important in nursing. Nursing is not black-and-white. There are a lot of gray areas. You need to be able to think quickly on your feet. There may not to be one right answer right away.”

McKain received the Autumn Rose Cooper ’18 Nursing Award, funded through the BC3 Education Foundation by the former Autumn Gressly, a 2018 BC3 Nursing, R.N., graduate. The award funds licensure and testing fees for the post-graduation NCLEX-RN.

BC3’s previous record of graduates in Nursing, R.N., was 73 in 2006.

Concordia Lutheran Ministries’ tuition assistance program allows BC3 registered nursing and practical nursing students to complete their programs tuition-free.

Penn Highlands Healthcare last fall began to sponsor tuition for select BC3 @ Brockway students who sign an employment agreement.

General applications for fall 2024 consideration in BC3’s Nursing, R.N., program on its main campus and at BC3 @ Brockway will be accepted beginning Aug. 1.

Graduates from Armstrong County are Ford City residents Maria John, Sara Layton and Jocelyn Shepard; Freeport resident Abigail Purvis; Kittanning residents Lisa McGinnis and Sabrina Zeigler; Rural Valley resident Natalie Peffer; and Worthington resident Rebecca Stewart.

Graduates from Butler County are Butler residents Kristen Barkus, Chrissa Clark, Hannah DeMar, Sarah Felsing, Hostensia Fotoh, Allyson Krajnikovich, Shane McIntire, Paige McKain, Hailey Metzger, Meredith Morrison and Emma Perkins; and Cabot residents Taylor Keith, Maura Schaffer and Jenna Stallsmith.

Graduates from Butler County also are Chicora residents Kathryn Allen, Emma Clark, Steven Schaeffer, Anne Schleiden, Kate Slaugenhoup and Brooke Stahlman; and Cranberry Township residents Rayannah Redhi and Debora Urrutia-Aliano.

Graduates from Butler County also are Evans City resident Lucas Kinnaman; Karns City residents Ceanca Everetts and Breanna Vargas; Lyndora residents Emmaline Henne and Samanthia Sutton; and Mars residents Jill Dawson, Nicole Hillman, Tahirih Pellegrino and Paris Trinidad-Charles.

Graduates from Butler County also are Parker resident Hannah Farrington; Prospect residents Alexis Barbati and Kayla Ward; Renfrew resident Brooke May; Sarver resident Cole Reiser; Saxonburg resident Madelin Culleiton; Slippery Rock resident Haley Cararini; Valencia residents Timothy Mahoney, Amanda Olesnevich and Brianna Schneider; and Zelienople resident Kaitlyn Hayes.

Graduates from Clearfield County are DuBois residents Rebecca Fishel, Alicia Henry, Ashley Lingenfelter and Tracey McAllister; and Penfield resident Elizabeth Morris.

Graduates from Jefferson County are Brockway resident Kayla Jamison; Brookville residents Amanda Christensen and Sara-Mae Eble; Punxsutawney resident Jessica Kerr; Reynoldsville resident Twonda Jamison; and Sykesville resident Chloe Hartzfeld.

Other graduates are Abigail Emery, Gibsonia, Allegheny County; Jessica Rutkoski, Freedom, Beaver County; Madison Davis, Knox, Clarion County; Joseph Geiser, Meadville, Crawford County; Jordan Anthony, Brockport, Elk County; Emily Smyth, Lititz, Lancaster County; Amanda Wemette, Ellwood City, Lawrence County; Heather Bell, Kane, McKean County; Abigail Montgomery, Mercer, Mercer County; Lindsay Chrisman, Franklin, Venango County; Jessica Bagdon, New Kensington, Westmoreland County; Finnley Coglon, Morristown, N.J.; and Elizabeth Mackey, Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.