Published: January 05, 2009 09:51 pm      

Lindsey Wilson graduates honored

23 students earn degrees

ASHLAND — More than 200 honored 23 area residents Saturday night at Ashland Community and Technical College.

The students were honored at the school’s J.B. Sowards Theatre for graduating from the Lindsey Wilson College Ashland Community Campus. Three students earned a bachelor of arts degree in human services and counseling, and 20 students earned a master of education degree in counseling and human development.

Thanks to an innovative partnership between Lindsey Wilson and Ashland CTC, the students took classes on Friday and Saturday in Ashland. The students will enter the workforce as mental-health professionals, which will help meet a critical need for mental-health workers in the region.

“It’s been a journey of self-discovery and academic accomplishment,” assistant professor of Human Services and Counseling Tammy Hatfield said to the graduates.

Hatfield said she was impressed by the graduates’ “level of empathy and deep caring.”

“They are going to be great counselors,” she said. “They will truly make the world a better place.”

Undergraduate Stacy D. Stevens of Grayson noted that although the students came from diverse backgrounds, they will all united by a common purpose.

“It is the desire to help other people that has brought us together,” she said. “It is our belief in our heart of hearts that our great reward is not in some cash sum but in service to other people.”

The students who were honored by Lindsey Wilson for earning a bachelor of arts degree in human services and counseling were Brandi Lynn Harris of Ashland, Stacy D. Stevens of Grayson and Jessica Lynn Wilks of Grayson.

The students who were honored by Lindsey Wilson for earning a master of education degree in counseling and human development were Rita Joyce Alvarado of Portsmouth, Tracy R. Barajas-Bentley of Vanceburg, Teisha Kay Caldwell of Ironton, Jessica L. Cende of Huntington, Pamela Jean Nunley Faulkner of Ashland, Margie Joan Fletcher of Flatwoods, Mary Elizabeth Hardy of Portsmouth, Tonda Delores Herring of Ashland, Keri A. Kitchen of Grayson, Debra Ann Law of Parkersburg, Zachary Todd Lester of Cattlesburg, Marion Wendell Mault of Portsmouth, Moteika Lou Roberts of South Shore, Lois Annette Royster of Wheelersburg, Eric David Schomburg of West Portsmouth, Tracey LeAnn Shepherd of Morehead, Jessica N. Sparks of Wheelersburg, Michelle Ann Tatman of South Point, Judy Cremeans Westley of Ashland, and Crystal Anne Wilson Kitts Hill, Ohio.