WKCTC 2023 Spring Candidates for Graduation Announced

Paducah, KY (05/19/2023) — West Kentucky Community and Technical College celebrated the Spring Class of 2023 during commencement at the Carson Center for the Performing Arts Monday, May 8.

More than 900 WKCTC students were eligible to receive associate degrees, diplomas, or certificates during Spring 2023. In addition to the candidates for graduation, more than 40 students received nursing pins. Retired Federal Judge Thomas B. Russell was the featured speaker of the two ceremonies. Cassandra Steele of Paducah was the student speaker.

"The definition of commencement is 'the beginning,'" Judge Russell said to graduates. "In many ways today, you are beginning new awareness. You have been provided an opportunity to succeed...you can do this, and you can do it well."

He also shared thoughts he said have been meaningful to him and hopes will help graduates on their journeys. "Seize upon unanticipated opportunities - in other words, go for it. Search for the truth. Be a generation that makes a difference...don't be afraid to try, don't be afraid to try again, and don't be afraid to try again, and don't be afraid to try again," Judge Russell said. "Care about what you do and care about others. Have the courage to say, 'I don't know,' but the will to find the answer. Be the change you want to see in this world...be yourself but be your best self."

A Louisville native, Judge Russell earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Kentucky University and Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Throughout his illustrious career, he worked in private practice in Paducah, was appointed United States District Judge and served from October 1994-October 2022 and as president of the United States District Judges Association from 2015-2017. Judge Russell was also appointed in 1994 by former President Bill Clinton to the Western District Court seat and served as Chief Judge from 2008-2011. He was later appointed by as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in 2015 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2015-2022.

Student speaker Cassandra Steele has wanted to be a nurse for as long as she can remember. Though many struggles in life sidetracked her dream - the death of her high school best friend, Meagan, who had the same dream of becoming a nurse - a divorce, illness, and injury, Steele pushed forward. She earned an Associate in Applied Science degree from WKCTC in 2012, a bachelor's degree in 2015, and began a career in social work for McCracken County.

While she loved helping people as a social worker, Steele said she felt continually drawn back to her childhood passion. She applied and was accepted into WKCTC's nursing program in Fall 2021.

"Throughout my career in social work, I had many experiences that no textbook can teach and will prove valuable as a nurse," said the 35-year-old mother of three. "Every experience in life is a stepping-stone to the next adventure. I will finally have a lifelong, meaningful nursing career to look forward to and countless lives I can impact with kindness and compassion," said Steele. "I want others to know that struggles along the way are meant to shape you, not break you."

Commencement speakers also included Dr. Anton Reece, WKCTC president; Jay Simmons, chair of WKCTC's Board of Directors; Chris Black, chair of Paducah Junior College Inc.'s Board of Trustees; and Lexie Harned, president of WKCTC's student government association. The college live streamed commencement on its WKCTC Facebook page and YouTube channel. Ceremonies remain on the platforms for future viewing: 4:30 p.m. ceremony, https://fb.me/e/c1kFC7ccx; 7 p.m. ceremony, https://fb.me/e/Mr32HBje. Commencement photos may be purchased at Jones Photography, www.jonesphoto.gotphoto.com and access code WKCTC23.

A list of WKCTC's fall candidates for graduation (listed by counties) follows. Students with one asterisk in front of their name graduated with distinction with a grade point average of 3.4-3.5, while students with two asterisks graduated with high distinction with a grade point average of 3.6-4.0.

ASSOCIATE IN APPLIED SCIENCE

Ballard County: Seth Brooking, *Audrey Doublin, Corbin Foster, Jesse Morehead, **Nicholas Tinker, Aiden Yarbrough

Caldwell County: **Taylor Howerton, **Mary Morse

Calloway County: *Lillie Boyd, *Joseph Briggs, Jessica Bryan, *Kellie Chapman, Frank Clinard, Joseph Freyburger, Whitney Futrell, Shannon Jacobs, **Justin Mcleod, *Ashley Milby, Lee Ann Orr, **Nerasha Payne, Madison Schoppe, Shelby Siress, **Rodney Stewart, William Tabers, Samuel Wortham, Brendan Draper, Harley Hinshaw

Christian County: **Katelynn Mckinney

Crittenden County: **Marissa Dawson, Alaina Driver, Emily Love, **Braxton Winders, *David Young

Fulton County: *Whittney Mckinney

Graves County: **Daylin Adams, Mackenzie Alsup, Makenna Bouland, Mallory Buzanis, Elmer Carrillo, Chloe Dawson, *Kennady Dowdy, **Haley Feezor, Corinne Fox, *Jewely Lacewell, Cathryn Mathis, Anya Mccombs, **Kobe Mcpherson, Amy Mills, **Avery Minter, Zachary Morgan, **Halie Mullins, **Sarah Pember, **Michele Pollack, Amy Rhynes, *Miranda Sams, **Tonya Turknett, Alana Walker, **Kali Wood

Jefferson County: Marlone Calhoun

Livingston County: Tori Davenport, **Carsyn Jones, Erica Quertermous

Lyon County: **Carol Baier, Jerica Driver, Nathan Mcdowell

Marshall County: Sarah Barr, *Angela Bell, **Amanda Brown, **Emily Burd, *Loryn Carver, **Tera Colson, Kaylee Cope, Danielle Cunningham, Cortney Davis, Janie Dunn, Gregory Franklin, **Addison Gardner, *Leonard Henry, *Kayla Henson, **Olivia Miller, Annabelle Myers, Thien Pham, Brooke Riter, **Sarenna Tomassi, **Brayden Trimmel, *Shelby Wadkins

McCracken County: Gavin Ames, Rachel Barrett, Nicholas Blewett, **Jess Carnes, Krystal Carr, **Heather Corley, *Bradley Davis, **Adam Fleming, Kelcie Gratz, *Jason Hayden, Matthew Heath, Kassie Hooks, Valerie Johnson, Michael King, **Hali Kissiar, *Robert Langhi, III, Dalia Leon, Jesslyn Long, *Audrey Mansfield, Jennifer Miller, *Paola Mota, Dylan Nevels, Christopher Noles, Dorothy Owens, **John Phillips, **Cassidy Purvis, Josey Ray, Sylvia Reed, Savanna Sexton, Alysha Shelton, Whitney Smith, Ariel Spann, Cassandra Steele, Cayleigh Stepter, Kaleigh Stonecipher, **Kelly Sutherland, Paige Wells, Lotraun Woods, Steven Wooldridge

Trigg County: **April Vinard

CALIFORNIA
Orange County: Peterson Ochei

GEORGIA
Coweta County: **Eileen Johnson

Floyd County: Daniel Kotter

ILLINOIS
Johnson County: Alyssa Jones

Massac County: Griffin Benard, Jessica Cruz, Taylor Herron, Noah Holland, **Andrew Maurer, Sofia SalehPope County: **Jordyn Swinford

MISSOURI
Mississippi County: Riley Parker

NEW YORK
St. Lawrence County: Ryan Claxton

TENNESSEE
Obion County: Piper Warren

WISCONSIN
Marathon County: Jonathon Mccoy

ASSOCIATE IN ARTS

Ballard County: *Savannah Henderson, Adam Lynn

Caldwell County: **Makenzie Asher, Chansey Markham

Calloway County: Abby Aeschliman, Jasmine Alexander, *Grace Davis, **Whitney Harrison, Montana Kimbro, Hope Lawrence, Jordan Manning

Carlisle County: **Alexis Bogle

Crittenden County: Julia Adams, **Addyson Kirby, Jermontae Adams, **Breanna Baker, **Carson Burnett, *Kortney Carrico, Justin Earles, **Carley Edwards, Blake Elder, Chloe Ellegood, **Lillian Gardner, *Ethan Jetton, Vivian Lamb, Brooke Lawson, Lindsey Miles, **Mayra Oronia-Cruz, Elizabeth Roman, **Destiny Sanford, **Preston Schmitt, *Shawn Shelton

Hickman County: Jackson Midyett

Jefferson County: Shecurtia Cain-Harris

Livingston County: **Angela Lee

Lyon County: Samantha Buchanan, Victoria Schenk

Marshall County: Robert Austin, *Leah Bathon, *Savannah Fulgham, **Allison Hooks, Katelyn Kaufman, Jacey Lewis, Megan Park, *Faith Pratt, Zachary Smith

McCracken County: Cassie Andrews, **William Asbell, Michael Byrd, *Macy Dorris, Erin Eickholz, Abbygail Ellington, Destiny Freeman, Ethan Hawkins, **Faith Hyatt, Addi James, **Baylee Jameson, **Arlita Jones, Kirsten Jones, **Krista Jones, Tasjiair Jones, Kayla Little, Mariaengracia Lopez, Caitlin Maddox, Sydney Martin, Adrian Martinez, Gema Martinez, Norman Mason, Rachael Mccary, **Sydnie Midyett, Corey Milam, Brittany Monical, Abigail Mooneyham, Abigail Peck, Zoey Perry, Nikki Powell, **Leslie Reid, Darin Roseberry, Isabela Smith, *Jada Starks, Avery Strayhorn, Emelia Walden, *Hallie Waltmon, *Reilly Walton, **Patricia Wilson, **Jessica Workman

ILLINOIS
Massac County: *Alexander Heine, Jake Krueger, **Abigail Meyer, Joseph Pugh

ASSOCIATE IN FINE ARTS

Caldwell County: Lily Cox

Graves County: **Jamie Rogers

McCracken County: Alexandra Hequembourg, *Vuanh Pham, Olivia Vowell, **Judith Watson

ILLINOIS
Massac County: Logan Armstrong

TENNESSEE
Obion County: Laney Priest

ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE

Ballard County: Olivia Blackwell, Mekayla Brown, **Emma Clinard, *Sydney Davenport

Caldwell County: **Joshua Wall

Calloway County: Anna Coy, Celia Murphy, **Issa Williams

Fulton County: Brandi Hornback

Graves County: **Madeline Brown, **Kaleb Gore, Camden Mcguire, Isiah Wedley

Livingston County: **Charles Barlow, **Amber Downs, **Tyler Downs, Kelcie Kolba, Sydney Taylor

Lyon County: Breanna Castello

Marshall County: Cassandra Curry, *Kalessin Duffy, Logan Kennedy, **Noah Mcclure, Keegan Mckenty, *Alexis Ratcliff, Olivia Reynolds, *Jacob Sams, **Cameron Sullivan

McCracken County: **Amanda Balcerzak, Levi Davidson, **Bryan Denny, **Hadley Drake, *Daniel Galvan, Andrew Gourieux, Christian Gratz, Amy Hamilton, Natalee Harris, William Mason, Isaac Medley, Chloe Morgan, **Drew Mullinax, **Juliet Overton, Sarah Petter

Webster County: William Guinn, James Townsend

ILLINOIS
Massac County: Claire Bremer, **Keeton Reynolds

CERTIFICATE

Ballard County: Troy Ball, Brylee Blankenship, Rawlin Brooking, Byron Brown, Caleb Butrum, Lauren Butts, Ethan Carroll, Stanley Colson, Harold Compton, Kinsey Cox, Luke Evans II, Hayes Gibson, Malcolm Giltner, Taylor Greenwell, Sierra Groves, Devin Hawkins, Jacob Irvin, Breanna Jordan, Michelle Key-Byas, John King, Robert Lucas, Mason Nichols, Kayla Osborne, Karley Poloski, Dalton Reno, Elijah Reynolds, Kinsley Singleton, Lanea Sullivan, Sarah Vance, Braden Vernelson, Camryn White, Jerrico Wilson, Breana Worley

Bell County: David Voges

Butler County: Lillian Embry

Caldwell County: Cameron Baker, Savannah Beckwith, Mashayla Copeland, Gabe Dyer, Hadlee Hall, Gavin Hunt, Laura Mckinney, Elizabeth Myers, Emily Noffsinger, Travion Samuel, Maggie Tipton, Melanie Vaughn

Calloway County: Grace Anderson, Zachary Barger, Tim Bazzell, Shae Cagley, Dominic Cashion, Eleyna Conway, Olivia Copeland, Katlyn Cullop, Ayden Davis, Cara Dodd, Jackson Dunn, Tatum Edwards, Jacob Ferguson, Casey Gupton, Bradley Hale, Addyson Haven, William Hiter, Mekhi Hudspeth, Anea Hunt, Bailee Jackson, Sarah Johnston, Ahnyx Lawrence, Jennifer Lax, Me'ka Lee, Betty Maxey, D'ontae Mccallister, Jessica Mckinley, William Mitchum, Allison Murphy, Olivia Nance, Teresa Owen, Jaquelyn Perez Gomez, Brandi Pickard, Trayle Prescott, Brittaney Ripley, Joshawa Roberts, Haily Sanderson, Kenzie Spencer, Hogan Sullivan, Michael Turman, Allyssa Williams, Jennifer Wyatt

Carlisle County: Darrenda Brooks, Meagan Brown, Matthew Courtney, Dawson Draper, Janice James, Amanda Johnson, Joshua Lemons, Amber Marshall, Hannah Mcadoo, Kylie Mcgowan, Isabella Mcintosh, Breanna Purcell, Hailey Sanchez, Timothy Thomas, Kamilla Tibbs

Christian County: Destiny Addison

Crittenden County: Callie Courtney, Alexandra Geary, Kaitlyn Guess, Leah Perkins, Mary Perryman, Shannah Poindexter, Tate Roberts, Taylor Stoner, Nicole Tabor

Daviess County: Adam Burch

Fulton County: Myles Amberg, Daniel Boaz, Angela Gattis, Makayla Gattis, Samuel Gibbs, Lance Gibbs, Logan Griffiths, Karalee Guthrie, Troy Harper, Melissa Jameson, Raneeka Johnson, Skyler Johnson, Meagan Langston, Jana Large, Michelle Martinez, Jason Mathews, Brandon Morgan, Tristin Morris, Diana Penney, Nesota Perez, Joseph Simmons, Mckenzie Smith, Rumarriez Westbrook, Passion Wilson

Graves County: Luis Ajanel, Kristen Armstrong, Esmeralda Blanco-Rodriguez, Michaela Boles, Nicolas Burton, Kaleb Butler, Miquel Carman, Isaac Carter, Koby Chapman, Sean Clark, Shekida Coleman, Sean Cooper, Jordan Copeland, Mitchell Cotton, Shelita Crawford, Jamison Curd, Brianna Dalton, Mckayla Davis, Alisha Delatte, Cayla Dowell, Emily Dunaway, Natalie Elder, Ashley Emerson, Jerelyn Fabian, Carlos Flores, Kaytlin Flores, Dylan Fowler, Anna Fowler, Juan Garcia, Dylan Gibson, Kelly Green, Steven Greer, James Griffin Jr., Ethan Guy, Jayden Hester, Jarren Hines, Jayden Hodges, Dylan Houser, Mckenzie Jackson, Benjamin Jernigan, Noah Jones, Diego Juarez, Victoria Kehn, Hannah Keith, Kinsey Keller, Anna Kimbler, Madison Kinsey, Darbie Lamb, Andrew Lamb, Alyssa Lashbrook, Josh Litwiller, James Lopez, Kaylin Lyon, Estrella Machaen, Alyssa Maguire, Weston Marler, Macy Marler, Arturo Martinez, Lexie Mathis, Jake Mathis, Delaney Mcclure, Angel Medina, Carl Meyer, Dylan Morris, Dannerys Mosquea, Alejandro Murillo, Kasi Natividad, Joshua Newsome, Abbygale Nichols, Rebecca Ochalek, Jacob Ogg, Carina Oronia Cruz, Shaina Papierski, Alexandra Petterson, Kenzie Peyton, Lodner Phillips, Leah Puckett, Sabrina Puckett, Jose Reyes, William Riley, Owen Roberts, Matthew Robertson Jr., Lexie Robinson, Gabriel Rosas, Tyler Rowe, Tate Rudd, Abigail Sams, Carlos Sanchez-Soto, Trinity Sanders, Marley Shoulta, Dana Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Ella Smith, Ryleigh Smithson, Conlee Spann, Connor Speis, Abigail St. Pierre, Alexis Steinhoff, Mykala Suemnick, Trandon Sutherland, Bryant Swindler, Sarah Thomas, Corbin Thompson, Avery Thompson, Angela Toon, Joseline Tovar, Anna Townsend, Andrew Townsend, Payton Tucker, Danielle Turner, Madyson Turner-Roberson, Jiapsy Velazquez, Joshua Via, Jennifer Vicente-Paxtor, Brady Wetherington, Rachael Williamson, Ciera Wright, William Yates, Victoria Zeigler

Hickman County: Rachel Jackson, Lauryn Lupton, Jasmine Morales, Leaf Smith, Brandi Stacy, Angel Turner

Livingston County: Ashley Adams, Zachary Apperson, Devin Barnes, Ashley Bayston, Tana Durard, Angela Freeman, Mason Fuller, Ashley Funkhouser, Byron Lawson, Abbey Mason, Jessalyn Morrical, Scott Newman, Teala Owens, Dylan Paris, Zachary Poindexter, Sean Render, Austin Skinner, Zoe Skinner, Lydia Smith, Dean Taets, Layken Thomas, Hannah Thomas Fisher, Danyelle Thompson, Adam Watkins, Dylan White, Thomas Williams

Lyon County: Makenzie Coleman Lewis, Jed Dorroh, Lisa Edwards, Jennifer Gracia, Mckenna Peek, Dalton Phillips, Anne Russell, Amanda Smith, Whitney Springs, Paul Thiel

Marshall County: Mckinnon Allday, Hunter Archer, Shane Barrett, Ashley Baxter, Kyler Bennett, Nicole Carter, Carson Clymer, William Cornwell, Noah Council, Avery Darnall, David Daughaday, Hannah Dismore, Jacky Dycus, Lilly Eicholtz, Olivia Erbacher, Hayden Fugate, Kennedy Gattis, Justin Gipson, Savannah Hairgrove, John Harris, Hailey Henson, James Hicks, Kyle Hopkins, Dara Hopper, Eudoxia Hoskins, Isaac Hovekamp, Joseph Howard, Dakota Hurst, Clayton Jackson, Shonna Jackson, Madison Jeffrey, Blake Jeffrey, Gage Jones, Kerie Jones, Zachary Kelly, Jeremy Kidd, Maizie Martin, Nani Mcclure, Taylor Mccuiston, Brandon Mcmullin, John Miller, Brandon Mills, Nathan Monroe, Chase Moore, Kailey Murray, Jakeb Newton, Aaron O'Daniel, Emma Oakley, Lonnie Odom, Lanie Pellegrin, Brandon Pool, Chloe Reed, Rhiannon Reed, Jordyn Reed, Laura Savage, Ty Smith, Talon Smith, Alissa Spencer, Gage Tynes, Ariel West, David Wyatt, Michael Yeomans, Joellen Young, Justin Young

McCracken County: Aaliyah Abdelnaby, Ashley Adam, Alana Alexander, Benjamin Amador, Tyeese Anderson, Madison Anderson, Mackinsey Arnett, Andrea Ashbrook, Amaya Barger, Nathan Barnes, Zareia Beard, Ainsley Blankenship, Nicholas Bogart, Dayton Boulton, Horazeon Boyd, Case Boyd, Matthew Bozone, Joshua Bradford, Jakobe Bridges, Krischan Bright, Leanne Buchanan, Christopher Burkeen, Abby Burns, Kelsey Burton, Tiffany Caldwell, Cesar Camacho, Luke Campbell, Joseph Caserta, Donetta Casey, Alley Castillo, Lauren Cavanaugh, Adyson Chambers, Addison Chappell, Nikolas Chilton, Nicholas Cissell, Robert Clark, Erin Clark, Yolanda Clark, Isabel Clark, Baron Collins, Andrew Cornelius, Miriam Cortes, Kathryn Courtney, Caitlin Croft, Jasmine Croley, Sophia Crumble, Taylor Cullins, Adison Cunningham, Megan Dallas, Wayne Daniel, Zachary Daniels, Joshua Davis, Taylor Davis, Kaylee Davis, Sandra Deweese, Joshua Dillingham, Gio Doan, Ashley Dotson, Dana Dowdy, David Duncan, Laura Dunn, Lionel Ebenibo, Lance Edmonds, Pallavi Eldridge, Macey Evitts, Winter Fairfield, Jacob Feltner, Carly Fields, Anivia Foster, Jeremiah Franklin, Raven Freeman, Alexis Froman, Ainsley Galloway, James Gearhart, Bailie Gipson-Harris, Evangeline Gonzalez, Avery Goodwin, Ashley Gray, Olivia Griffith, Christian Grimes, Aalysia Halliburton, Ethan Hannon, Holly Harbin, Alexis Hardman, Alexandra Harned, Nicholas Hatton, Jarred Hedlund, Angela Helton, Trinity Henderson, Arnold Hernandez, Bryce Herndon, Jamari House, Daryl Hudson, Kristen Hughes, Lindsey Hughes, Kortney Islas, Chelsea Jackson, Kiarri A Jackson, Amber Jackson, Lejuan Jefferson, Jaevin Johnson, Erica Jones, Mya Kelly, Amari Kendrick, Michael King, Joshua King, Shanice King, Nathan Kinsey, Lyn Kochems, Jacob Kramer, Cameron Land, Alexander Lane, Tanner Leatherman, Julia Levine, Lizabeth Levinson, Kenton Manea, Christina Mangrum, Gatlin Manning, Tara Marcum, Grant McCary, Ashley Mcdowell, Charles Mcglone, Cassandra Meier, Luke Melone, Joshua Melone, Ian Mingis, Lewis Mohr, Jaquceana Morris, Jenna Morrow, Cameron Myre, James Nolan, Brady Noles, Janvi Patel, Trinity Patterson, Austin Peek, Baron Perkinson, Riley Peters, Samyuth Pinnegar, Ryan Pirtle, Alexis Pitchford, Zikise Powell, Shemekia Powell, Hannah Provenzale, Dennis Ramage, Marijane Raye, Chelsea Reaves, Carmen Redwine, Karina Reyna, Kaden Risley, Caitlin Robinson, Tinael Robinson, Johanna Rodriguez, Lacey Rogers, Sincere Rush, Tiffany Rutland, Isaias Saenz, olonda Safa, Naomi Sagitteh, Connor Savage, Elianna Schaefer, Emily Seaton, Jahkeem Shannon, Danika Shields, Sophie Shutika, Jonathan Simmons, Howard Simmons, Cody Simpson, Lanie Smallwood, Olivia Smith, Mary Smith, Sayer Smith, Gregg Snow, Jaron Snyder, Micah Spann, Cole Stephenson, Marie Stewart, Jordan Stone, Aleyah Strong, Brianna Strozzo, Katelyn Stults, Dylan Styers, Keely Sulcer, Whitney Summers, Baylee Tharp, Aliyah Thomas, Joseph Town, Bethany Underhill, Joseph Vanway, Shelia Vogt, Nathaniel Walker, Zachary Walker, Jehntle Walker, Autumn Wallace, Daniel Watters, Amanda Weir, Kheilenn Weitlauf, Jerri West, Treyson Wetzel, Lauren White, Jerica White, Latakia Wilks, Mikaila Williams, Kelsie Wilson, Marlee Wray, Emily Wren, Hailey Youngblood

Trigg County: Alexis Dicken, Casy Gray, Jakeb Jordan

Union County: Hannah Avery, Jaden Hancock

Warren County: Jensine Mitchell

ALABAMA
Cullman County: Treshawn Hines

FLORIDA
Alachua County: Stanley Tinsley

ILLINOIS
Coles County: Annabelle Becker

Johnson County: Carter Bishop, Kennadi Jeffords, Tanner Stafford

Macon County: Daphne Paul

Massac County: Jenna Baird, Dianna Bowman, Bryce Burnett, Jody Dumpprope, Sage Helm, Madeline Hertter, Cornelius Jeffery, Lydia Martin, Kevin Meier, Devin Roach, Bradley Thomas, Brent West

Pope County: Olivia Jaber, Juanita Kizziar

INDIANA
Pike County: Jaylyn Hinton

Vanderburgh County: Nathan Snyder

MISSOURI
Webster County: Taylor Winder

TENNESSEE
Davidson County: Clare Yang

Henry County: Charles Lukas, Cayce Mathis, Chantee Nored, Elizabeth Prokop

Weakley County: Charlyce Davis

WEST VIRGINIA
Lincoln County: Andrew Sponaugle

DIPLOMA

Ballard County: Jordan Rudolph, Haley Sullivan

Caldwell County: Kaitlyn Wood

Calloway County: Faith Thornton, Samantha Tipton