Jaqueline Escobar-River
Courtesy of PTC
NEWBERRY COUNTY — Piedmont Technical College (PTC) conducted two in-person fall commencement exercises on Thursday, December 16, 2021, at the James Medford Family Event Center in Greenwood. In all, approximately 152 students received degrees.
Amy Marshall, a human services major, and Haylee Godfrin, a commercial arts advertising/photography major, were the student speakers for the afternoon ceremony.
A devastating car accident in 2019 left Amy Marshall with disabling injuries that prevented her from continuing to work in the health care industry. Life became a blur of doctor appointments, physical therapy and bed rest. Marshall wondered what could possibly be next.
“God did not create me to sit at home,” Marshall said.
After a vocational rehabilitation consultation cleared her to return to work in physically limited roles, she struggled to envision her future.
“I am a people person, and I knew that sitting behind a desk having little interaction with people was not for me,” she said.
A career assessment revealed Marshall had an aptitude for counseling. Lacking the necessary training for that profession, she enrolled in Piedmont Tech’s Human Services Program and excelled there, receiving the Distinguished Student Award, serving as a presidential ambassador, and serving as vice president and president of the college’s Human Service Club. She also was installed in the Human Services Honor Society and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Marshall expressed that PTC offered not just a family environment but a family that offers opportunities.
“The instructors and staff are like great parents who want you to succeed, and it shows in their teaching, encouragement, and guidance. I am forever grateful for my time at PTC,” she said.
Two milestone events — one devastating and one joyful — put Haylee Godfrin on the path to her degree in general technology, advertising design, with a photography concentration. The sudden death of her father in 2016 and the birth of her daughter, Skylar, in 2018 gave Godfrin the desire to make her father proud as well as to serve as a positive role model for her young daughter.
“Everyone said that going to college in the middle of a pandemic was awful, but it was a lifesaver for me,” Godfrin said. “I was able to take all of my classes online, work a full-time job, and have a family life. It helped me get back into the swing of things since I had been out of college for several years.”
Godfrin heaped praise on her instructors in the Commercial Arts Program for their strong encouragement and warm leadership.
“All of my instructors have made my time at Piedmont Tech so wonderful. Not only did they teach me so much, but they also provided guidance, support, and an ear to listen when I needed it,” she said. “When I was finally asked to join Kappa Pi (a national collegiate art honor society), I cried happy tears because I never thought that I would have achieved something like that in college. I never thought that I would be good enough.”
Using her new degree, Godfrin already has secured a position she loves in the graphic design profession.
“Piedmont Tech has impacted my life in the best way,” she said.
Jake Roberts, an associate degree nursing major, and Jaqueline Escobar-Rivera, a cardiovascular technology major, were the student speakers for the evening ceremony.
Jake Roberts originally graduated from Winthrop University and worked as an analytical chemist in Rochester, New York, for years before a sense of something missing brought him back to the Lakelands. He had been successful as a chemist, but it was not rewarding or fulfilling to him.
“I discovered what made me thrive and what living a fulfilling life meant. I found the pillars that supported the foundation of what I consider a happy and successful life: family, community, leadership, and balance,” Roberts said. “My mother has been a registered nurse for the entirety of my life. If I could go back in time and speak to my younger self, I would have said: ‘Pay attention to how cool you think your mom is. It might save you eight years of learning what you want in life.”
Roberts began conversations with his family about entering the nursing profession and received overwhelming support. It was a life-changing decision returning to college after so many years and taking courses during a worldwide pandemic.
“Our professor, Mrs. Susan Skawski, brought an incredible amount of energy and depth of knowledge to each online lecture,” he said. “As a nursing student, it was tough to learn a very hands-on career in an online fashion. She made it work, and she made it work in style. She presented what I consider to be the best lectures I have ever been part of, and she did it from her attic bedroom.”
Before graduation, Roberts was offered a position at Self Regional Healthcare in the Intensive Care Unit. Both his job interviewer and lead nurse are alumni of PTC’s Nursing Program. “Piedmont Tech’s relationship with Self Regional and the other hospitals in the area has undoubtedly helped me to find ample opportunity for a career after today,” he said. “Connections make a huge difference.”
Jaqueline Escobar-Rivera knows she is not alone in battling self-doubt and struggling to believe in herself. Encouragement from her mother, her faith, and her experiences at PTC helped bring her out of the darkness and into healing and light.
“You are perfect because God created you,” she told her fellow graduates. “Stop hating your body. Stop hating your personality. Stop wishing you looked like someone else. Stop denying your beliefs to please others. Face your fears, reset your focus, and when someone says ‘you can’t,’ have the courage and bravery to prove to yourself that you can.”
Escobar-Rivera plans to begin studies this spring at the University of South Carolina toward a bachelor’s degree in cardiovascular technology as the first PTC student to participate in a new CVT bridge program.
“Be extraordinary. Be compassionate. Love yourself. And trust God, because He has a plan for each of us and a purpose even when we don’t believe it,” she said. “We can all say that we’ve earned this accomplishment, and that is the best feeling ever.”
PTC President Dr. Hope E. Rivers applauded the graduates for their accomplishment.
“No matter how you got here, no matter how confident or, perhaps, afraid you were when you first enrolled at PTC, it took courage — real courage to take the first step. Every one of us has felt a bit of trepidation, nervousness, and anxiety during the first few weeks of college, especially those who are the first-generation college students,” she said. “Courage is not simply the absence of fear. It is moving forward in spite of fear, in spite of doubt. I am so proud of each one of you for hanging in there, doing the hard work, and keeping your eyes on the prize. You did it! Enjoy and revel in this achievement.”