Outstanding Student Award Presented to Nursing Graduate
East Central College recognized a leader and compassionate nursing graduate with the 2021 Outstanding Student Award.
Rolla nursing program graduate Summer Thorp-Lancaster received this year’s award, which is voted on by ECC employees.
Each year, the Outstanding Student Award winner is presented with a plaque at graduation and given a $100 award. Thorp-Lancaster was recognized May 15 during a commencement ceremony held in the Donald Shook Student Center.
To be considered for the honor, an ECC student must have maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. In addition to academic achievements, participation in campus and community activities is also considered.
Thorp-Lancaster
Thorp-Lancaster is a nursing student with a GPA of 3.66 and she is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She is a recipient of a Missouri League for Nursing Scholarship and a Phelps Health Scholarship.
She received nine separate nominations for 2021 Outstanding Student Award.
ECC Rolla nursing instructor Courtney Brandt MSN, RN, said Thorp-Lancaster is a leader among her peers. She served as the student nurse organization president during the last academic year.
“In this role she has organized fundraisers and service projects,” said Brandt. “She is the go-to when you need a volunteer, she organizes class events and is always supportive of her classmates.”
“Summer excels in the classroom. She is inquisitive and excited to learn new information,” she added.
“Her priority is to make sure she is well prepared to be a successful nurse. In the clinical setting she has demonstrated that she will be a skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate nurse. She quickly builds relationships with her patients and is a great patient advocate.”
Another of Thorp-Lancaster’s instructors, Julie Chirban, MSN, RN, agreed that the award recipient is kind, compassionate and helpful to other students.
“She will go out of her way to help a fellow student with coming early or staying late after class to go over things,” Chirban said.
Before attending ECC, Thorp-Lancaster started a local nonprofit called WomanSpace that provided space for small-business events, as well as meeting space and a sense of community. She is highly respected among friends who practice and seek alternative health care and natural food options, and she worked as a doula for several years.
Thorp-Lancaster has volunteered for several limited-time opportunities in her Phi Theta Kappa chapter, including filming a promotional video targeting nontraditional students and why ECC is the right fit for those students.
She served a short term as the Rolla PTK public relations secretary during the end of 2020 Spring semester before classes went all online. Thorp-Lancaster has been available on short notice multiple times to read parts of an induction ceremony, run to the store for supplies and other small but vital tasks that keep the PTK chapter functioning.
She also was awarded the Outstanding Student in Human Anatomy & Physiology at the Rolla Student Awards ceremony in 2019.
Jennifer Harrell
The 2020 Outstanding Student Award was presented to graduate Jennifer Harrell on May 15.
Harrell, who is now attending classes at Missouri S&T, Rolla, was recognized by ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer and the college in June 2020, however, there was not a graduation ceremony where she could be officially honored.
Harrell was the PTK vice president of public relations in 2019-20 and she served as an ECC Student Ambassador from March 2019 to May 2020.
In April 2020, Harrell was named a winner of the 2020 Scott Wright Student Essay Contest from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).
Read more about the 2020 recipient here.
