Wallace State Nursing Celebrates August 2026 Graduates

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Wallace State Community College celebrated the success of more than 120 nursing students during a pinning ceremony for the August 2026 class. 

Graduates of the program included the first cohort of the UAB/WSCC Joint Enrollment Mobility option, the second cohort for the Wallace State/Athens State Joint Enrollment program, and the 12th cohort for the UAB/Wallace State Joint Enrollment program. The joint enrollment programs allow students to concurrently earn both an associate degree from Wallace State and a bachelor’s degree from the partnering institution. 

“This evening, we gather here in the spirit of celebration and achievement,” said Deborah “Pepper” Hoover, chair of the Wallace State Department of Nursing Education. “Each graduate has embarked on a journey filled with dedication, compassion and unwavering commitment.”

Hoover asked the graduates to remember three things throughout their careers: Commit with heart to their nursing care, continue to learn and grow as a person and as a nurse, and to celebrate the moments every day. 

“Nursing is not merely a profession,” she added. “It is a calling – an unyielding desire to serve, heal and uplift.”

In her address to the class, Lisa German, Vice President for Learning at Wallace State, noted she has always appreciated nurses, but that appreciation deepened this year when her granddaughter spent a week in pediatric intensive care after suffering injuries in an accident. 

“During that time there was a myriad of physicians, therapists and other healthcare providers that passed through her room and were attending to her needs,” German said. “But the comfort to me and my son and daughter-in-law was the omnipresence of those nurses that were there attending to her needs. That experience provided me with a heightened depth of gratitude and appreciation for the nursing profession.”

Daizhara Hoyett of Birmingham addresses the August 2026 graduating class from Wallace State Community College’s Nursing program.

Class President Daizhara Hoyett of Birmingham congratulated her classmates for the strength and perseverance they demonstrated to earn their degree. 

“These graduates didn’t make it here because life was easy. They made it here because they refused to quit,” she said. 

“I saw the mother breastfeeding while returning to the program for a second try and refusing to give up. I saw the students in the study rooms on days when classes weren’t in session because average was not good enough. I saw the father with the wife and several babies at home depending on him to make it to the finish line so he could change the financial direction of his family,” Hoyett said. 

“Tonight represents every sacrifice, every tear, every prayer, every sleepless night, every exam we thought we wouldn’t pass and every moment we questioned if we were strong enough to make it here today,” she said. “We became stronger, more disciplined and more compassionate, more professional, and more confident than we ever imagined we could be.”

Valencia Gulley, left, Kaleigh Lee, and Maddie Hopson, each received a Nightingale Award during the pinning ceremony for the August 2026 class of nursing graduates from Wallace State Community College. 

Nightingale Awards Presented

As is tradition, several students were recognized as nominees and winners of the Nightingale Award. Nominees and winners are selected by faculty in recognition of the students’ commitment to excellence in scholarship and dedication to compassion and exemplary patient care.

Maddie Hopson, Valencia Gulley and Kayleigh Lee each received a Nightingale Award.

Hopson, of Cullman, was described as a true light to those around her whose uplifting spirit and ability to bring joy to even the busiest and most stressful moments make her a positive influence on her peers, faculty, and patients.

Gulley, of Birmingham, was said to “radiate the caring compassionate nature that every nurse should have.”

Lee, of Cullman, had open heart surgery at age 19 and that experience led to her decision to become a nurse. “I want to give back to patients – especially those facing situations similar to mine, or even more difficult ones – to provide them with the compassion, understanding and care that made such a difference in my own life,” Hoover read from Lee’s graduation reflection story.

Other nominees for the Nightingale Award were Roberto Abarca, Emma Bailey, Jalon Boatright, Lawaiia Browder Richardson, Chloe-Faith Conrad, April Crump, Kim Gordon, Andrea Harbin, Daizhara Hoyett, Ester Jose, Lorie Brooke Kilgore, Hayley Langley, Katelyn Rogers, Stephanie Shoemaker and Shameria Wells. 

Members of the Wallace State Nursing August 2026 class include: 

Addison: Zoey Bryant (Williams), Jesse Oliver

Alabaster: April Crump

Albertville: Luciano Jimenez

Arab: Madison Ayers, Michaela Brown, Ashley Kingston, Katelyn Richey

Bessemer: Rolonda Burks, Jalen, (Jay) Craig, Atalya Everett, Kenya King

Birmingham: Ladarrious Blue, Akira Brazziel, Toccara Corbin, Lilkeshia (Keshia) Davis, Kim Gordon (Agee), Rhema Gresham, Valencia Gulley, Daizhara Hoyett, Lauren Khieu, Danaea Miller, Rakell Mahogany, Tanaja (Nay) Roberts, Zharia Tanksley

Blountsville: Chloe-Faith Conrad, Lauren Hawley

Boaz: Ester Jose, Emily Williams

Camden: Charilyn McConnico

Center Point: Edna Mitchell, Bianca Goodman

Cherokee Ridge: Stephanie Branum

Cleveland: Rebekah (Faith) Hixon

Cullman: Carsyn Blankenship, Katelyn Embrey (Miller), Mark Fisher, Madison (Maddie) Hopson, Kinsley Hunter, Karli Jacobs, Heather Jones, Kayleigh Lee, Jennifer Potts, Melissa Rodriguez, Katelyn Rogers, Bailey Smith, Abigail (Abby) Stancil, Lindsey Weidman

Decatur: Concepcion (Connie) Cottongin

Double Springs: Olivia Cofer

Empire: Chloe Stewart (Washington)

Falkville: Haleyn Puckett

Florence: Destiny Holden

Fultondale: Coreye Agee, Sydney Curry

Gardendale: Felicity McClendon, McKenley Torrez

Haleyville: Meagan Turner

Hanceville: Emma Bailey, Makaleigh Cortes Gomez, Kristin Knight, Haley Langley, Makenzie Light, Madison Swann, Alexandra (Allie) Willcutt (Hunter)

Hartselle: Gwendolyn Lunsford

Harvest: Lawaiia Browder

Hayden: Stephanie Shoemaker

Helena: Joseph Corbin, Dominic Fuller, Leslie Torrijos

Holly Pond: Kenneth (Justin) Edwards

Homewood: Gabriella Grimes, Enid Kigondu

Hoover: Emily Colpo, Cedacia Dew, Thomas Valentine

Houston: Karly Wade

Jasper: Krista Atkins, Araceli Ramirez

Jemison: Roberto Abarca

Kimberly: Samantha Madison

Leeds: Randilee Hosmer-Condley, Britney Pearson

Locust Fork: Jalon Boatright, Emily Stringfield

Logan: Garrett Brown

Madison: Tanisha Hubert

Maylene: Erica Huff

McCalla: Courtney Owen

Montevallo: John Jones

Montgomery: Laura Rugley

Moody: Timothy Pierce

Nauvoo: Elysia Edwards, Josey Robinson

Oakman: Shamerria Wells

Odenville: Brittany Fry

Oneonta: Angela Bodine, Faith Hubbard, Timothy (Justin) Lake, Marcela Mendoza Quiroz, Elizabeth Nunez, Karina Nunez, Michelle Velez

Pelham: Brett Gillespie

Pinson: Jazzlynn Carrington, Robin Muniz, Lauren Wesley

Rainbow City: LB (Lorie-Brooke) Kilgore

Rogersville: Breanna Butler (Hughes)

Scottsboro: Danielle Doss (Rich)

Somerville: Justin Smith

Southside: Frances (Grace) Phillips

Springville: Sydney Brannan

Talladega: Astrid Wesley

Toney: Danielle Coney, Jovaine Dell

Trafford: Silvia Rivera

Trussville: Caroline Crane

Vinemont: Andrea Diemert, Melissa Hagler, Starla Handley (Fuller)

Winfield: Andrea Harbin

Woodville: Caroline Gray

The Wallace State Nursing program is accepting applications for Spring 2027 entry through Oct. 1 for the traditional associate degree pathway, UAB/WSCC Joint Enrollment, and Wallace State/Athens State Joint Enrollment. 

Fall 2026 classes will begin Aug. 17, with registration for Regular and Mini Term I open through Aug. 21. Mini Term II classes will begin Oct. 14. Contact Lion Central at 256.352.8236 or come by the Hanceville or Oneonta campus centers. Current and incoming students may schedule an advising session with the Center for Student Success at www.wallacestate.edu/advising.

 

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About Wallace State

Wallace State Community College (Ala.), a member of the Alabama Community College System, is a comprehensive community college in north central Alabama offering more than 200 options in academic, health and technical programs of study leading to an associate degree, certificate or transfer, as well as workforce-credit training and adult education. An Achieving the Dream Leader College, nationally recognized by the Aspen Institute as a Rising Star for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, ranked by Southern Business and Development among the Top 3 institutions in the South for workforce development, named a Center of Excellence by the National League for Nursing and the National Security Administration, rated the Top Online Community College in Alabama, a Military Friendly Institution and an All-Steinway School, Wallace State is an outstanding place for students to pursue their education and career goals. Classes are offered online and on campus, day, evening and on weekends, with numerous start dates each year. Visit Wallace State’s beautiful main campus located on 300-acres in Hanceville, Ala., our satellite location in downtown Oneonta, Ala., find us online at www.wallacestate.edu, or call 256.352.8000.