Future Regional Nurses Honored at Pre-Graduation Event at WT

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - About 50 future nurses were honored at a special pre-commencement ceremony at West Texas A&M University.

WT's Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing's annual pinning ceremony-held at 10 a.m. Dec. 12 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT's Canyon campus-recognized 49 students who graduated during a commencement ceremony held later that afternoon.

Pinning ceremonies are an opportunity to recognize the students' hard work and dedication in their clinicals and in classwork, marking the transition from student to nurse, said Laura Reyher, director of the Street School of Nursing and WT's Laura and Joe Street Professor of Nursing.

"These nursing graduates have gained incredible knowledge and skills through relentless determination to be the best registered nurses they can be," Reyher said. "What they have learned here at WT will have a positive impact on patient care for families and communities across the Panhandle and throughout Texas."

Of the 49 graduates, 88 percent plan to work in Amarillo or the Panhandle region.

December 2025 graduates in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program who were pinned are (with hometowns):

Zoe Adams-Feland, Amarillo; Cesilia Arellano, Tulia; Abigail Boehning, Muleshoe; Alexandra Camargo, Littlefield; Heaven Cantu, Dimmitt; Ciana Carlton, Amarillo; Christian Carrillo, Panhandle; Caterina Casarez, Amarillo; Payton Cochran, Canyon; Elizabeth Cranfill, Canyon; Maelee Culwell, Bushland; Ingrid De Santiago, Plainview; Ali Dominguez, Canyon; Wyatt Dressler, Canyon; Ethan Dryden, Amarillo; Bryan Dzul, Farwell; Nasayha Estrada, Amarillo; Madelyn Ewing, Amarillo; Alondra Fernandez, Amarillo; Joey Fowler, Bushland; Jacob Garza, Hereford; Myriam Guevara, Bovina; Ryanne Higgins, Canyon; Zienna Holguin, Amarillo; Bailee Kidd, Fort Worth; Raven King, Amarillo; Lanie Kuykendall, Amarillo; Preston Lowe, Amarillo; Cynthia Marrufo, Amarillo; Ryleigh Martinez, Amarillo; Liliana Murguia, Amarillo; and Karla Nanez, Hereford.

Also, Nallely Ortega, Amarillo; Zahria Parker, Austin; Diana Perdomo, Pampa; Pamela Ponce, Follett; Ethen Rattana, Amarillo; Ellee Reeves, Wellington; Kaydence Robbins, Fritch; Jordyn Rudder, Amarillo; Dany Salvetti, Dallas; Lacy Sims, Amarillo; Kaitlyn Snyder, Bushland; Katelyn Stages, Amarillo; Eleanore Stanfield, Plainview; Marlee Welchlen, Amarillo; Amber White, Dumas; and Yokabed Wolde, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Fall commencement ceremonies were held Dec. 12 and 13 in the First United Bank Center on the Canyon campus.

Established in 1972 and graduating its first students in 1974, WT's Street School of Nursing currently provides about 70 percent of nurses employed throughout the Texas Panhandle.

WT nursing graduates, over the past five years, have averaged a 92 percent score on the National Council Licensure Examination, required by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to test the competency of nursing school graduates in the United States and Canada. Nationally, the average is 85 percent; in Texas, it's 87 percent.

Educating nurses is a key component of WT's mission to address regional challenges, as set out in the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign has raised more than $175 million and will continue through 2025.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest's finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: Bailee Kidd, a nursing major from Fort Worth, is pinned by grandmother Jana Kidd, a former West Texas A&M University nursing faculty member, at the Dec. 12 pinning ceremony for December graduates from WT's Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing.

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