SHREVEPORT – “Nursing is not just a skill or a career, it’s another way to love.”
Those words came from LSUS graduate Shiessence Jones, one of 15 licensed practical nursing students to walk across the stage Tuesday to receive their nursing pins and diplomas in the LSUS Theatre.
Jones was the chosen speaker of a cohort that completed the 12-month LPN program, which includes a combined 1,540 hours of theoretical and practical nursing condensed into a calendar year.
“My classmates and I have been through a tedious 334 days full of hard work, dedication and tears,” Jones said. “We made sacrifices this year, and for some of us, we’ve seen our lowest points. Today, we are experiencing one of our highest points.
“We’ve been through sleepless and studious nights, long clinical hours, balancing work, school and kids. We’ve known what it’s like to turn our last five dollars into a meal. When I look at this group, I see intelligence, perseverance, and strength. I see a group of individuals that believed in themselves and overcame their struggles.”
Tuesday’s graduates included Jones, Lanette Abrone, Chanequa Allen, Deridea Denard, Teneshia Dowdy, Jayda Ivey, Kiarah Nichols, La’Vonteaa Pearson, Miranda Rothring, Keyerra Rye, Tahirah Smith, Jessica Washington, Chesley Wilson, Betty Young, and Wilesha Young.
Ivey earned the award for highest achieving student in the theoretical portion of the program while Wilesha Young captured the honor for the clinical portion. Smith and Rye were honored for having perfect attendance.
The journey to become nurses is a critically important one for a profession whose average age eclipsed 50 years old in 2024.
“You all deserve an awful lot of credit for going into healthcare,” said LSUS Chancellor Dr. Robert Smith. “This is a time in which the demand for healthcare has spiked dramatically at the same time in which the number of individuals working in nursing has decreased.
“COVID-19 threw healthcare for a loop, and then baby boomers are aging out of the workforce. The work that you will do is very much needed, and I want to thank you and congratulate you on this incredible accomplishment.”
Dr. Dennis Wissing, dean of the college of education and human development who spent 50 years in healthcare, added that Tuesday’s graduates will “never be out of a job.”
“If I can give you two pieces of advice,” Wissing said. “Always make eye contact and smile when you go into a room. And don’t make your job a routine – as hard as it is in any profession not to do that.”
Wissing performed the blessing of the hands ceremony while nursing faculty Debbie Holloway led the Florence Nightingale pledge.
Starting pay for LPNs is advertised around $25 per hour.
LSUS LPN classes begin each January and August with the application process occurring a few months before the class start date.
Applicants interested in applying to LSUS’s program should visit https://www.lsus.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/nursing-lpn-certification.
