Luz Soto-Lambert said she was the first in her family to graduate from high school or a college.
Luz Soto-Lambert, of Springfield, talks about her upcoming graduation at the 39th annual nurses pinning ceremony at Springfield Technical Community College Tuesday.STCCSPRINGFIELD – Luz Soto-Lambert delivered her second baby eight days ago, but that did not stop her from attending her nurses pinning ceremony Tuesday at Springfield Technical Community College.
Soto-Lambert, 28, was one of 74 students who received their nurses’ pins Tuesday afternoon from Springfield Technical Community College.
“I am the first high school graduate and the first one in my family to get a degree from a college,” Soto-Lambert said. “My parents are from Puerto Rico. One has a third grade and one has a sixth grade education.”
Soto-Lambert said she worked as a nurse’s aid while getting her nursing degree.
Festus Vanjah, 28, said he decided to become a nurse because his mother is a nurse and she told him that many patients would like to have a male nurse.
Vanjah said he hopes to get a job in a hospital emergency room or in a cardiac care unit.
“I want to do something fast paced where I have to think on my feet,” he said.
“There is always work waiting to be done in the nursing field,” Vanjah said.
Three of the nursing school graduates are veterans of the Middle East conflict, Mary M. Tarbell, dean of nursing, said.
Graduate Tracy Clapp urged her fellow graduates to “hold your heads high and treat others as you would want them to treat you.”
STCC President Ira Rubenzahl said nursing is a field that is critical to every American’s well being.
“You will be on the front line of the transition of national health care reform,” Rubenzahl told the graduates. He said there are $2.6 million registered nurses in the United States.
Hector Toledo, chairman of the Board of Trustees of STCC, praised the graduates for balancing long nights of study with all of the other responsibilities in their lives.
“Enjoy the rest of your professional lives,” he said.
Graduate Michelle LaVallee said nurses are healers and advocates.
“You overcame hardships to get here,” she said. “Some of you held two or three jobs while studying and some of you also had to master the English language.”
She called nursing “a noble profession” and a calling where you “put others before self.”
After receiving their pins, the nurses pledged to uphold an international code of ethics and “promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate suffering.”