Tyler Billie, student speaker for the morning commencement ceremony at PTC.
Courtesy of PTC
NEWBERRY COUNTY — It seemed that grief and failure had become permanent themes in Ebony Ellis’s young life.
A survivor of domestic abuse, Ellis tried twice between 2013 and 2019 to complete classes at Piedmont Technical College (PTC) while recovering from trauma and grieving the tragic loss of three beloved family members. Each time, she dropped out to work full time and tend to more pressing responsibilities, providing financial support for her family and raising her daughter as a single mother.
“I gave up on school altogether,” Ellis told PTC summer graduates during the college’s afternoon commencement ceremony on Aug. 4. “I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I couldn’t handle anything else. I decided at that point that school was not for me.”
Over the years, Ellis watched her friends earn degrees and achieve career success while she settled into a subsistence lifestyle. It took the persistent urging of a co-worker in Newberry to persuade her finally to turn the corner. While working as a medical assistant, a nurse practitioner by the name of Barbie Johnson would not stop imploring Ellis to re-enroll in college.
“I told her I had flunked out of college twice and wasn’t about to go back again,” Ellis said. “I explained to her that I was working full time and I was a single parent. I didn’t have time for school anymore. But she told me — if she could do it, so could I.”
In fall of 2020, Ellis re-enrolled at PTC and, a year later, was accepted into the Nursing Program. On August 4, she received her practical nursing diploma with plans to apply for the transition nursing program at PTC next May. During her PTC journey, she became a college Presidential Ambassador, was voted president of the PN Care Club, received the Louise Rambo Nursing Scholarship, became a member of the National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (NALPN) Honor Society, and was awarded the Distinguished Student Award for Practical Nursing.
“I am living proof that the third time is a charm,” she said.
Tyler Billie, graduating with an associate in applied science degree with a major in general technology, digital rendering, with advertising design concentration, was the student speaker for the Aug. 4 morning graduation. After first majoring in veterinary technology at PTC and with encouragement from his parents, Billie changed his focus to the commercial art program.
“Growing up, art was always my favorite hobby,” Billie told the morning ceremony graduates. “But I always looked at art as only a hobby and never really thought about doing it as a career. From week one in my first year till, literally, now, it has been a non-stop run. (My instructors) throw multiple projects at their students every week that really challenges and pushes us to see what we can do.”
Billie was honest, admitting that his coursework was stressful at times, but the tough trials were critical to elevating students to the next level, the professional level.
“I have lost plenty of sleep while in these classes, pulling multiple all-nighters. I have stressed about something almost on a weekly basis, restarting and reworking projects, planning, and preparing prints for some of my biggest projects,” he said. “I can definitely say that I have learned new tricks and skills every week that I’ve been in this program. I feel like I am now ready to start working in this field. I have become a better artist, and I have truly loved my experience.”
Graphic design and illustration are Billie’s specialties, and he hopes to start a career in commercial art as well as to explore freelance opportunities as well.
Self Regional Healthcare President and CEO Dr. Matthew Logan delivered remarks at both ceremonies, offering perspective from a local employer and business leader. He told a story about the lasting impact every individual has the potential to leave, even in what they consider unremarkable deeds and gestures.
A few years ago, he tended to an elderly patient in the emergency room who had known his father, also a physician. The woman shared a powerful memory from 35 years earlier of Logan’s father sitting with her younger self and her mom in the ICU as her mother was dying. Having conveyed that there was nothing further they could do medically for her mother, the senior Logan stayed in the room, sitting on the hospital bed compassionately holding both women’s hands until the older woman peacefully passed away.
“For 35 years, that memory was ingrained in her head, for the rest of her life,” Logan said. He went on to describe a recent letter he received as hospital CEO from a former patient at Self, praising numerous hospital staff members for delivering excellent physical and emotional care of her while in the hospital. She identified each staff person by name.
“Three of individuals mentioned in the letter are Piedmont Tech graduates,” he said. “Your presence is something people will remember for the rest of their lives. You make a difference.”
Between the two ceremonies, officials conferred diplomas and other credentials on an estimated 190 summer graduates.
In closing, Logan urged, “Never stop setting goals. Self Regional has doors that are open to you. Keep pushing. Each of us has an opportunity to give back every day. It really can make a huge difference in the community that we live in.”