A St. Edward was among those recognized at the pinning ceremony held for Northeast Community College nursing students. 

Whitney Wurdeman received her nursing pin during a special ceremony recently at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. During the ceremony, the graduating nursing students received their pins from family members or a close friend who has helped them along their journey.

“Today, we celebrate the educational success and journey that 42 Practical Nurses and 28 Associate Degree Nurses have completed,” said Dr. Michele Gill, dean of health and wellness. “There have been many quizzes, tests, lab experiences, clinicals and study sessions in your pursuit of this academic achievement thus far, and we are so very proud of you all.”

Gill said the observance is the culmination of the students’ initial journey to professional nursing education.

“The annual ceremony is a bridge from nursing’s past to nursing’s future and is a time-honored nursing school tradition. It signifies the official initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses.”

The history of the pinning ceremony goes back to the Crusades of the 12th century. The modern ceremony dates back to the mid-19th century when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George for her tireless service to the injured during the Crimean War. To share the honor, she in turn presented a medal of excellence to her brightest graduates.

In addition to the pinning ceremony, one associate degree nursing (ADN) and one practical nursing student were presented the Essence of Nursing Award for their consistent academic effort, caring actions, positive motivation toward classroom learning and clinical experience, and professional behaviors.   

Jamie Petz, West Point, ADN student, and Rebecka Mackling, Emerson, practical nursing student, were honored with the award.

Chris Wood, Lincoln, president of the Student Nurses Association, gave the student address at the ceremony.

Upon completion of the first two semesters of nursing studies at Northeast, students are eligible to take the National Council of Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) to become licensed practical nurses. Students who hold a 3.0 grade point average in their nursing courses are eligible to complete the last two semesters of the Northeast program and take the National Council of Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) to practice as licensed registered nurses.

Students who graduate with an associate degree in nursing are eligible to continue their studies for a bachelor of science degree in nursing. The general education courses for a bachelor of science in nursing can be taken at Northeast Community College.
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Students who were pinned with the Associate Degree Nursing pin include:
Nebraska:
Bassett - Hollie Morton, Kelsey Venenga; Battle Creek - Kourtney Jones; Bellwood - Paige Birkel; Carroll - Natalie Sieler; Clarkson - Leslie Urbanek; Columbus - Samantha Finecy; Creighton- Melinda Murphy; Emmet - Erin Judge; Hoskins - Tegan Karella; Lincoln - Chris Wood; Lynch - Madison Rossmeier; Madison - Jordan Freudenburg; Neligh - Christina Scott; Norfolk - Carrie Cooper, Heather Ebel, Ashley Sieler; Oakland - Alicia Isner; O’Neill  - Barbie Donohoe; Pierce - Emily Willard; Plainview - Audrey Blum; Saint Edward - Whitney Wurdeman; Silver Creek - Brittany Marker; South Sioux City - Yvonne Basilio; Springview - Sophia Sawle; West Point - Jamie Petz.                                                      
Out of State:
IA, Mapleton - Lorissa Peterson; NY, Long Beach - Krystal Spanopoulas.

Students who were pinned with the Practical Nursing pin include:
Nebraska:
Atkinson - Jason Seger; Bloomfield - Cory Sonnichsen; Bristow - Mary Ruda; Brunswick - Amberly Erickson; Clearwater - Cassidy Steskal; Creighton - Khristina Stevens; Dixon - Michaela Nitz, Laura Showen; Dunning - Michaela Goedeke; Elgin - Laura Ruge; Emerson - Rebecka Mackling; Hartington - Andrew O’Brien; Hershey - Kourtney Hart; Humphrey - Kami Hackerott; Norfolk - MaKenzie Gordan, Melisa Green, Evie Kelly, Brittni Merchant, Heather Salmon, Makel Sazama, Zoe Serres, Allison Soward, LeAnn Sweigard, Grace Wapelhorst, Aly Wilke; North Platte - Jaime Titus; O’Neill - Rita Sterns; Orchard - Kimberly Dickerson; Papillion - Tegan Nissen; Pierce - Brooklyn Houdek; Stanton - Shana Fry, Sara Vollbrecht; Superior - Bailey Williams; Sutherland - Hannah Hansen; Tilden - Ranee Keehn; Waterbury - Mariah Kramer; Wausa - Cindi Bruckner; Wayne - Lexi Allen; West Point - Jade Duhsman; Winside - Dominique Kelberlau; Wisner - Charlotte Wolff.
International:
Gabon, Libreville - Yvonne Mezegue.

The majority of the practical nursing students have chosen to continue in the associate degree nursing program at Northeast. 
​                 
Each nursing school, at every level of education, has its own unique pin which is worn on the nursing uniform.  The nursing school pin that graduates of the Northeast Community College’s associate degree nursing and licensed practical nursing program receive is symbolic of nursing’s heritage and tradition. ​

Five St. Edward tracksters will look to bring home gold next week at the state track and field meet in Omaha.

Three boys and two girls qualified for the state meet with strong performances at districts. On the boys side, Jonah Micek will compete in the 100 and 400 meter dash. Brayden Olson will represent the Beavers in the 800 meter run. Rounding out the boys will be Keenan Rasmussen in the 300 hurdles.

For the girls, Shonda Shanle locked up a spot in the 300 hurdles and Treva Tharnish will compete in the shot put.

The St. Edward girls drew the fourth seed in the D2-2 subdistrict tournament.

They will take on the top seed, Humphrey St. Francis. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Clarkson High School on Tuesday.

A St. Edward family is spending their child's first birthday without a home thanks to a fire.

Caleb and Kendra Roberts, along with their two children, were unharmed by the blaze. But their house is another story.

Family of the Roberts' have set up a GoFundMe page where donations can me made. 

The family also needs essential items like soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, tylenol, towels, deodorant, etc.

The family has received donations of kids clothes already, but could use adult men's and women's clothes.

Any donations can be dropped off at Pizza Hut in Albion, the Genoa Medical Clinic, C & S Convenience Store in St. Edward, and Club 81 in Humphrey.

St. Edward senior Brayden Olson may want to relax a little bit over the holiday weekend after all the work he put in Friday night.

Olson put on a show Friday night as the St. Edward Beavers topped Harvard 59-30. 

Olson had 24 carries for an incredible 358 yards and six touchdowns. His long run of 62 yards helped his average of 14.9 yards per carry. He also added 14 yards receiving on the night.

Olson and fellow senior Keenan Rasmussen gave the Beavers a duo that was too much for Harvard to handle. Rasmussen added 180 yards of his own on just nine carries. He added three touchdowns for the Beavers.

As a team, the Beavers rushed for 553 yards.

Quarterback Jonah Micek didn't need to do much on the night with Olson and Rasmussen putting in the work they did, going three for five for 34 yards.

The game was a close contest in the first half, with St. Edward holding a slim 25-24 lead going into halftime. However, their unstoppable rushing attack led to 27 points in the third to pull away for good.

The defense locked down in the second half for the Beavers, led by Rasmussen, Olson and Evan Roberts. Rasmussen gathered 14 total tackles. Roberts added 12 while Olson added 10 tackles and an interception.

The Beavers will take their high-powered rushing attack to Heartland Lutheran next Thursday.

​In the second year under head coach Kenna Jassa, the St. Edward Beavers volleyball squad hope to see significant improvement.

After winning just three games in 2015, the Beavers enter the 2016 season with a young roster. With just one senior listed, it is expected that there may be some growing pains, but it leaves high hopes for the future of the program.

St. Edward gets the 2016 season started off on September 1 as they host the St. Edward Four-Team Tournament.

Team Profile:
St. Edward did not submit a profile for the 2016 volleyball season.

After earning the Nebraska Six-Man runner-up title in 2015, the St. Edward football team is hungry for more.

Under the direction of coach Darren Luebbe, the Beavers plan to take the next step and win it all in 2016. The return of seniors Keenan Rasmussen and Jonah Micek gives the Beavers a great foundation heading into the season.

St. Edward kicks off their title hunt September 2 as they take on Harvard.

Team Profile:
St. Edward did not submit a profile for the 2016 football season.

On September 24, at 1 p.m., people can get down and dirty with their county roots all while raising money to help those in their community.
 
Hicks From The Sticks Country Battle will feature a mud run or walk, corn on the cob-eating contest, karaoke contest, along with other events before ending the evening with watching the Husker game.
 
Farm 4 A Cure is putting on the event with all proceeds going to people in the community who are fighting some sort of battle.
 
Farm 4 A Cure was started when a local farmer’s mother was diagnosed with cancer.
 
Two years ago, Donny Baker and his family attempted to deal with the situation that was dealt to them.  Then their farming community stepped up to harvest his fathers crops and to help financially. This generosity gave Baker the idea to start Farm 4 A Cure.
 
“This program is designed to cultivate the spirit of generosity and gratitude,” Baker said.
 
Farm 4 A Cure is a project developed to assist people that are fighting a battle that could be a crisis situation, cause, cure, or just a citizen in need.
 
Baker didn’t want to limit the fundraising to just the St. Edward and surrounding areas. It is open to the public for people to branch off his idea.
 
“So, if someone in Kansas want to start their own Farm 4 A Cure there is only a couple easy steps,” Baker explained. “They have to have four board members and they have to have two fundraisers a year for their community and area.”
 
Baker is expecting a large turnout for the Hicks From The Sticks Country Battle.

​Sign up is the day of the event at Baker Farms near St. Edward at 3386 360th Street. For any questions, contact Donny Baker at 402-750-2057.

After playing college and semi-pro football, Donny Baker wanted to do something to help the rural athletes get noticed and experience something along the lines of what he did playing at Wayne State and then the Sioux City Bandits.
 
“And that was amazing. A little bit of a different experience,” Baker said.
 
Baker wants to give athletes in the smaller schools the opportunity to get noticed and be a collegiate athlete. To do that, he designed a program called Train 4 the Next Level.
 
This program is similar to national athletic camps such as the Sparq and Nike camps, but instead of paying hundreds and traveling across the country, it’s local, and only $10.
 
“I partnered with set the bar fitness up in Norfolk,” Baker said. “Todd Uhlir and me, we just met one day and kind of back and forth and five hours later we are just like hey, I think this is going to be a really cool deal.”
 
After talking to many different coaches and getting some on board, Baker started to invest more time and money into his idea as it started to take shape into a program. He wanted coaches to know that his goal is to help the kids in the program be their best.
 
“I’m not trying to change your program,” Baker said. “But I think this would help your program.” 
 
And now things are picking up. Starting with the first camps in Albion and Grand Island, Train 4 the Next Level will also be holding camps in Lincoln, and Omaha and hopes to have camps in other towns.
 
Baker also intends to hold a Top 100 camp as his feature camp, which will include a banquet for top performers.
 
He will post a list of the top 100 players he has tested on his website, using the player’s performance at one of his camps as well as their statistics from the previous season to determine the top players in the state. Baker intends to use this as a motivational tool for young athletes.
 
"I don't want them to look back when they are freshman in college or sophomores and say 'What if? What if I would have done this program? What if I would have worked just a little bit harder?" Baker explained.
 
Baker is very passionate about his new program, because he sees it as something kids need.
 
“I think it’s a need for our state, I think that it is a need for the United States."
 
Eventually, Baker’s intention for his program is for it to help not only football players, but athletes in all sports.  
 
More than anything, Baker wants to be able to do his best to help kids improve. Even if it does not lead to a college scholarship, he wants athletes to be able to say they did what they could to better themselves.
 
 "I want to give this chance to everybody," Baker said. "We have programs, we have work out programs for schools that are lacking that, we have that for them too." 
 
Anyone who is interested in participating in one of Baker’s camps, or would like to inquire about hosting one of their own, is encouraged to contact him through either his Facebook page, T4NL Nebraska High School Combines, or go to his website train4thenextlevel.com.