The three Niagara dailies (Niagara Falls Review, St. Catharines Standard and Welland Tribune) recapped NC’s Spring 2025 Convocation ceremonies that recognized outstanding graduates from across its programs, including two Governor General medal recipients and 13 students who received dean’s awards for achieving the highest GPA within their academic schools.
St. Catharines Standard reporter Reporter Victoria Nicolaou interviewed Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Rochelle Bush and Dean’s Award winner for the Myhal School of Nursing and Practical Nursing graduate, Breanne Smeed in the recap.
Bush, who graduated from NC’s Fashion Arts and Social Service Worker programs — 35 years apart — she never imagined she’d be back on the convocation stage accepting the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
“I was just thrilled. It’s so humbling. I never expected it, and it almost brought me to tears to hear that 125,000 alumni are out there right now, and I was the one that was selected,” said Bush.
For Smeed, who made a career shift from esthetics to nursing following the pandemic, receiving the Dean’s Award was a meaningful recognition of her hard work.
“It’s so nice to be nursing women and it’s a ton of health teaching, which is something in nursing school they talk a lot about … teach them once they are discharged, how to take care of themselves,” said Smeed, a mother of three.
Read the June 1 St. Catharines Standard article here.
