From RCC Student to Employee

Paris Nelson earned an associate in arts and sciences degree from RCC in 2019. “While I was a student here at RCC, it was some of the best times,” said Nelson. She took a mixture of online and in-person classes, and especially enjoyed coming to campus for classes because the student lounge was always filled with people either playing pool or ping pong or playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Her favorite classes were in Biology. “The atmosphere was always welcoming and exciting.”

After graduating from RCC, Paris started taking classes at VCU and got a job in RCC’s testing center. She then transferred to working for the Student Help Desk as an Instructional Support Technologist. "I helped students get logged into their accounts to give them access to Canvas and their accounts is a vital step in completing course work,” she said. “I like helping the students and talking to them about what classes to take, what can transfer, and how to navigate the systems they need to use.”

Paris continues to learn and help students at RCC since she sees the value of going to a community college as the first steppingstone to advance one’s education.  She is now an Admissions and Records Technician, at the same time, just started her graduate degree at the University of Idaho studying Human Factor Psychology. In the Admissions and Records department, her favorite thing to do is help students who need to know what their first step is. Whether it's helping them apply to RCC or guiding them on what steps to take after applying. She remembers how intimidating it once was starting college, and no matter the age, those nerves are the same for all people.

“I like to help the next generation of students realize the value of learning new skills, whether it be for a certificate program, workforce, or getting their AA to transfer,” she said.

Burn Survivor Makes RCC Nursing Graduation a Full-Circle Moment 

This article was written by Sara McCloskey, VCU Health News Editor, is reprinted with permission.

Eyes full of pride watched as Kendra Yates, 27, walked onto the stage in January (2024). It was Rappahannock Community College’s pinning ceremony for nursing students, and among the crowd were her fiancé, Michael, and her boys, 5-year-old Joseph and 3-year-old Josiah, who was born just weeks before Kendra enrolled in classes.  

But she wouldn’t have been there if not for one of the people pinning her. Katherine “Katy” Davis, M.S.N., R.N., a nurse clinician at the VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center, was on the comprehensive burn care team that oversaw Kendra’s treatment after a serious motorcycle crash seven years earlier. 

“Your life doesn’t end because a tragic thing happens to you, right?” said Kendra, who had dreamed of returning to school to become a nurse. “[Your life] can continue and you can still accomplish your dreams. Even if it looks a little different than what you wanted it to be in the beginning, you can still accomplish it.” 

Kendra invited Davis and Michael Feldman, M.D., medical director of the Evans-Haynes Burn Center, to her pinning ceremony at graduation. The compassionate care she experienced at VCU Health, Kendra says, inspired her unending curiosity to pursue nursing. Today, it serves as an example for the kind of patient-focused care she wishes to give to others. 

Growing up in Middlesex County, Virginia, Kendra envisioned a career in health care, but after trying out school for a few semesters, she realized she wasn’t ready. While taking a break from classes, her dreams were nearly extinguished. 

A lover of motorcycles, Kendra, then 20, fell off a bike while riding as a passenger. The asphalt caused massive abrasions and cuts to her skin. The road rash covered most of her body, the lifesaving equipment of her helmet prevented injury to her face. 

“You know what it feels like to have a skinned knee. Imagine having that all over – all over your body,” said Davis, the nurse clinician. "You’re also losing a lot of fluids. It’s a lot of pain. [Kendra] lost a lot of blood.”  

The injury, which Kendra estimates covered 80% of her body, was so extreme it felt like a third-degree burn. She was admitted to the VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center. While it wasn’t the injury the center typically sees, the clinical team knew exactly how to treat it. Click here to read the original article. 

Persistence Pays Off

Mariyah Bland, RN, credits Rappahannock Community College (RCC) for her success in nursing. “I learned so many great things while at RCC. Not just about nursing itself but about life overall and how to be well-rounded person,” said Bland.

 Mariyah shares that the biggest obstacle she had to overcome as a student at RCC was her own lack of confidence and feeling intimidated about applying to the nursing program. Instead of talking herself out of applying she finally decided it was worth it and if she wasn’t accepted, she could “get back up and try again.”

"Every instructor I crossed paths with wanted me to not just remember the   material but to really understand it and how it would make me a better nurse," she said. This holistic commitment to education highlights RCC’s dedication to nurturing not only competent professionals but well-rounded individuals. “The nursing program is very challenging, but I met with staff and fellow classmates to make sure I understood the information. I still use everything I learned in the program.”

Beyond academic and professional achievements, Mariyah acknowledges the formation of lifelong friendships that have evolved into a supportive family. “Graduating from RCC has brought me so many opportunities that I never saw coming,” said Mariyah. “I’ve been blessed to work in the two fields of nursing that I’ve always wanted to experience, one as a school nurse and now as a pediatric primary care nurse.”

 More Alumni Stories 

From RCC to Newport News Shipyard

RCC Baseball Players Return to Classroom 48 Years Later
 

Rappahannock Community College Student Fanning Wins Literature Prize 

RCC Alumni Damarius Pollard Receives Patent for Trailer Floor Protector