By Jeanne Sager
LOCH SHELDRAKE — May 10, 2002 – Pamela Zaitchick had a dream.
The Glen Wild resident attended last year’s pinning ceremony for nurses graduating from the Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) nursing program.
“I had a dream that I could be the one up here representing my class,” she recalled.
Wednesday, Zaitchick’s dream was answered. She, along with Woodridge resident Loretta Salvay, gave the graduate address for SCCC’s nursing class of 2002.
The school graduated 27 new caregivers this year, many who will go on to four-year programs and others who will enter the hospitals and health care facilities in the area to provide a sense of peace to the patients.
“Nurses are made of special stuff,” said Zaitchick, “and I believe we have it.”
Salvay advised her fellow nurses to remember to start each day with a smile for the patients, and to treat each one they meet with understanding and respect.
“Let us elevate the mundane by focusing on the lofty goal of helping others,” she said.
“This is a class of friends,” Salvay added, “friends who work together, and friends who care.”
She and her classmates were each rewarded Wednesday with a pin that represents their commitment to healthcare and were instructed to light a candle representing the many lives they will touch in their years as nurses.
“Like the burning of a candle, all of us can touch an untold number of others,” Donna Kleister, director of nursing at SCCC, told the class. “The journey is not over here tonight – it is truly only the beginning.”