Lambda Chi Nu Project Wins State Award

Lambda Chi Nu, the nursing honor society at Piedmont Technical College, was recently recognized with the Student Community Involvement Project award sponsored by the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA).

“Volunteering and community service are a big part of the nursing field,” said Tara Harris, dean of nursing at PTC. “These kinds of activities help our students develop the leadership and service skills they’ll need on a daily basis when they begin their careers.”

Piedmont Technical College’s nursing program emphasizes a caring attitude to all students and annually requires students to complete a service project. The award-winning project was a family day at Big Oaks Rescue Farm. The event was one of 13 technical college student projects submitted to SCTEA.

“This is a great opportunity for students to get involved and to address special needs in the college and local community,” said Elizabeth Wilson, nursing instructor and Lambda Chi Nu advisor.

Students sold tickets that participants used for food, face painting, hay rides, pony rides and treats for the animals. Tickets were also sold for a chance to bottle feed a baby alpaca. A smaller event in the summer and the larger event in the fall raised more than $3,000 for the rescue farm.

In the past, the students have sponsored health fairs and 5K runs, but they decided they wanted to do something unusual.

“Lambda Chi Nu students thought it would be a good community project because it was different and helped support a worthy cause that people don’t often think about,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the students will continue to support the community through these types of projects.

“Each year we support March of Dimes and Relay for Life and we will continue to do those, but we want to do something else in addition to those,” Wilson said.

“Projects like Big Oaks Farm offer our students a chance to engage with the community, which is an essential skill in nursing,” said Harris. “These projects provide students with a different perspective.”

To learn more about the nursing program, contact the admissions office at (864) 941-8369 to sign up for a Health Science Information Session.  The session is offered three times a week and provides any information needed about pursuing a nursing career. 

Photo Caption: Lambda Chi Nu, the nursing honor society at Piedmont Technical College, was recently recognized with the Student Community Involvement Project award sponsored by the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA). Accepting the award at the SCTEA conference were, from left, Scott McCravy, vice president of Lambda Chi Nu, and  Ronnie Wilkinson, president of LCN.