Celebrating December 2022 Nursing Grads

The City of Mulvane had a front seat during Butler Community College’s nurses pinning last week when two residents, Class President Jonathon Serrano-Ramsey and Class Vice President Garrett Schaar lead their fellow graduates onto the gym floor. Ramsey is a graduate of Mulvane High School, Schaar a graduate of Derby.  

Ramsey and Schaar join 59 others from Butler’s highly regarded nursing program who are prepared to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and enter the workforce as nurses. 

Among the recognitions, nine students graduated with degrees from both Butler and the University of Kansas through a special nursing partnership. Receiving hands-on training at Butler and online instruction through the KU Nursing Program, these graduates earned their KU BSN and Butler ADN degrees simultaneously: Abbey Wilks of Maize, Collin Shandy, Alison Owens, Melissa Martin, Natalie Odour, and Monique Maldonado, Wichita; Victoria Schlesinger, Andover; Dawn Star Jackson, Haysville; and Courtney Krois of Greenwich, Connecticut. 

College administration also represented a new award which will become a tradition at Butler. The Barnes Family Foundation created The DAISY award in 1999 to honor their son, J. Patrick Barnes, who died while being taken care of in the ICU. The award was created to recognize nurses internationally and to thank nurses everywhere. DAISY stands for disease affecting the immune system, as their son died of ITP, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura. The award is now an international program and honors nurses in the hospital and the academic setting. Butler nursing instructor Sandra Ott, MSN, APRN-CNS, and nursing graduate Maria Aguilar Mendoza of Wichita were named DAISY Award recipients for Fall 2022.  

View the livestream of the ceremony on BCTV Channel 20.

Nursing graduates by hometown: (all awards denoted, see award legend below) 

Legend 

(KU) – Butler ASN graduate and KU Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduate 

(BSNA) – Butler Student Nursing Association Officers 

Andale 

Courtney Stuhlsatz BSNA Secretary 

Andover 

Amy Knowles-Bowren, Hillary Tsvetkov, Victoria Donelda Schlesinger 

Augusta 

Katie Williams, Emily Rose Groen, Jessica Arnold 

Benton 

Anna Strecker 

Derby 

Kristina Hilboldt, Skylar Milner, Elizabeth Dye, Crystal Weldin, Quinett Garth, Melissa Gould 

El Dorado 

Leticia Otsuka 

Emporia 

Ellyssa Tomac, Tara Dold 

Goddard  

Samantha Reno, Adetayo Oduwole 

Haysville 

Elaine Acosta, Brionna DeMeritt, Dawn Star Jackson (KU BSN Graduate)

Maize 

Abbey Wilks (KU BSN Graduate)

Mulvane 

Jonathan Serrano-Ramsey (Class President); Garrett Schaar (Class Vice President)

Lost Springs/Lincolnville 

Diadra Jone Hill 

Wichita 

Elisa Arnold, Siobhan Headman, Alison Owens (KU/BSN Graduate), Michael Pezoldt, Chiho Inokuchi, Ryan Quillen, Maria Aguilar Mendoza (BSNA Membership Chair & DAISY Student Award), Winnie Sang, Stacy Aguilar, Andre Ammons, Kerri Arbaugh, Tiffany Luong, Tessa Schwarz, Hannah Macias, Collin Shandy (KU BSN Graduate), Monique Maldonado (KU BSN Graduate), Absalon Banuelos-Padilla, Carly Robben, Madison Lynn Smith, Shelby Beery, Melissa Martin (KU BSN Graduate), Denise Cocking, Tatum Martinez, Anne Maritess Dao, Anna Born, Kendra Neill, Chabrice Dempsey, Nancy Nyamweya, Alondra Valdez Leal, Natalie Oduor (KU BSN Graduate and BSNA Treasurer), Shaina Fontelroy, Marleece Williams, Ashlyn Wuestewald, and Danny Vo. 

Greenwhich, Connecticut 

Courtney T. Krois (KU BSN Graduate)