Twenty-eight NOC students attended a Nursing/Pre-Engineering Day helping students learn to network in a professional environment. (photo by Shiloh Martin/Northern Oklahoma College)
NOC Enid hosts nursing, pre-engineering professional day
Northern Oklahoma College Enid, Stillwater, and Tonkawa students attended a Nursing/Pre-Engineering Day at NOC Enid’s Gantz Center in early September.
The professional day was led by Dr. Frankie Wood-Black, Division Chair for Engineering, Physical Sciences & Process Technology and Dr. Nikole Hicks, Division Chair for Nursing.
Twenty-eight students attended the day-long event, 18 from the nursing program and 10 from pre-engineering.
The professional day had three sections including Building a Success Plan, Building a Resume’, and How to Incorporate Experience Outside the Classroom. The students also participated in group activities.
Northern Nursing students participated in afternoon sessions to learn resume preparation and interview tips from Cassandra Marlar, HR Strategy Manager at INTEGRIS Health and Terri Hummel, Nurse Recruiter at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.
According to Dr. Hicks, “Northern Nursing is honored to be able to work with industry experts to assist our students in preparing for successful entry into the workplace.”
Dr. Wood-Black said, “Northern Oklahoma College provides this opportunity to our students headed toward professional occupations to help them identify opportunities where they can develop the particular skills that will set them apart from other applicants. It is important to show the students how to what opportunities there are here at Northern and what connections they can make during their time here.”
Dr. Hicks added, “This workshop exposes students to the idea that they are building a portfolio to prepare themselves for the next phase in their careers, whether academic or workplace. They can then be more intentional during their time at Northern Oklahoma College about taking advantage of opportunities to enhance their portfolios.”
NOC President Diana Morris Watkins said, “I’m so pleased with the work Dr. Wood-Black, Dr. Hicks and their teams have done to hold this excellent professional development opportunity for our students as we seek to prepare them to become valuable members of Oklahoma’s workforce.”
The group also met in pairs where they had a few minutes to learn about one other student and then had to introduce that other student they just met to the entire group.
Dr. Wood-Black explained why she asked the students to do this exercise.
“This is how you network by meeting people you didn’t know and learning their goals and aspirations,” she said. “It is so important to learn those networking skills as you build a career. Knowing the skills is important but it is not enough.”
Students also had professional photographs taken for use with resumes.
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public two-year community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services.
NOC serves nearly 4,000 students through the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, and NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater. Of these students about 80% receive financial aid and/or scholarships. 75% of NOC students complete their degree with zero debt.
The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science; the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs; and the Accreditation Commission for Education and Nursing.
For more information about Northern Oklahoma College please call (580) 628-6208 or visit the NOC website at www.noc.edu.
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