Practical Nursing Class - Sherry Norwood, Kim Cochran, Dr. Jenny Johnsonius - instructor, Crystal Grezeszak, Tamika Tolley; (second row) Lora Cooper, Rose Hopkins, Melody Mort, Mary Poteete, Sandra Prince, Lisa Everett, Christie Sexton, Angela Lane; (third row) Jennifer Gray, Nick Allen, Belinda Ballard, Retha Burns, Denise Reynolds, Leslie Harvey, Wendy Bowlin, and Deborah Caceres. Below is a story written by Joel Washburn of the McKenzie Banner about our new LPN class that starts February 2nd. McKenzie - "When one door closes, God opens another," said Rose Hopkins of Sharon. Rose is a displaced garment worker, who along with her "older" sister Belinda, have started a yearlong course at the Tennessee Technology Center at McKenzie to become a practical nurse. Belinda and Rose share a desk - just as they have shared many other life experiences - as they learn math and study skills from retired McKenzie teacher Martha Sue Peters. The sisters had journeyed through life at the same garment companies, each staying until the company was shuttered and the jobs dispatched overseas. First it was Salant and Salant and most recently Martin Manufacturing in Martin. Each wanted to be nurses when they left high school, but marriage, children, and earning a living precluded nursing school. Belinda is a widow of two years. She has three children and two grandchildren. Rose is married and has a 24-year-old daughter. Now the sisters are realizing their dream of going to school to be a nurse. Nursing students are displaced workers from Fecheimer, Dana, Kimro, MIG, McKenzie Valve, and New Generations Furniture. They reside in the counties of Obion, Weakley, Henry, Carroll, and Henderson. John Penn Ridgeway, counselor for the school, said the class, taught by Dr. Jenny Johnsonius, is provided by a one-year grant through the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to serve the displaced workers. Each student successfully passed the entrance exam for admission into the nursing program. A total of 50 took the entrance exam, said Ridgeway. The programs at the TTC at McKenzie offer the only real hope for some adults to return to school, said Ridgeway. Nursing students will attend 7:20 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Monday through Friday. Following the initial study skills class at McKenzie, the students will complete the course at the satellite campus in Martin. Industries throughout the nation are reducing the workforce. The same is true for Tennessee Technology Centers throughout the state. Elizabeth Check, director of TTC-McKenzie, said the school recently reduced its workforce by one. "All technology centers are cutting back in staff while demand for the programs is increasing," said Check. The training programs at Tennessee Technology Center at McKenzie are designed for adults who cannot take four years out of their life for a college degree, concluded Check. Kim Cochran, co-owner of Kimro in Trezevant, is herself also in the class after her company lost its major contract with a sportswear company. Kim said her dad, Roy, is operating the company while she attends school. The mother of twin seven-year-old girls said it will difficult to get everyone dressed and off to school. The girls attend West Carroll Primary in McLemoresville and she will be traveling to Martin each day. Kim shared a desk with Sherry Norwood of McKenzie, contemporaries at McKenzie High School in the late 1970s. Sherry worked for Kim's company in Trezevant. Sherry said the math is "coming back to her" after a 30-year absence from school. Kim and Sherry both had Mrs. Peters as a middle school teacher. Sherry is a widow, mother of six biological and stepchildren, grandmother of 11, and great-grandmother of four. Nick Allen of McKenzie is the lone male in the classroom. At age 26, his work experience has included layoffs at three companies experiencing downsizing. Dr. Johnsonius said the class is 1,296 hours in length. |
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