UKIAH, Calif. – People arriving at the 2012 Mendocino College Nursing Graduation were greeted by laughter, big smiles and beautiful bouquets of flowers for loved ones.  

What everyone didn’t know was that a wonderful surprise awaited all nineteen of the nursing graduates.

A few months earlier, Albert Beltrami of Ukiah generously agreed to provide a magnificent gift to each graduate.

The gift was a check made payable to each nurse in the amount of $400 to fund their state board examination fees.

According to Dr. Barbara French, director of Nursing at Mendocino College, “For every month a nursing candidate waits to take their state board examination, their ability to pass goes down 24 percent. It is absolutely critical that our graduates take the examination immediately following graduation, and this gift from Mr. Beltrami guarantees that they will.”   

On average, once students begin the nursing program their annual income drops by over 43 percent due to the intensity of the program.  

“Several students approached me prior to graduation expressing their concerns about paying for their state boards. It was hard to keep the secret but well worth it when I saw their faces as the announcement was made,” stated French.

Beltrami believes in supporting his community and has done so by creating the Albert and Patricia Beltrami Scholarship Internship for those interested in pursuing a career in local government and more recently by providing the nursing graduates with this remarkable gift.

“Al knows that a strong and vibrant community is built around having an educated and well trained workforce,” stated Katie Fairbairn, executive director of the college’s foundation.   

According to Fairbairn, this unprecedented gift represents a guarantee that these 19 nursing candidates have the ability to immediately sign up for their exams and once passed begin working in our community to provide the care and compassion that embodies a nurse.  

“The foundation is extremely grateful to Mr. Beltrami for his generosity and vision to create a stronger community by supporting these graduates,” stated foundation President Gary Smith.

The Mendocino College Nursing program boasts some of the highest pass rates for a community college nursing program in the State of California.  

According to French, the current pass rate for Mendocino College nursing students is 96.4 percent while the statewide average is 85 percent.

Student speaker Alison Bowen told the audience in attendance that the last two years in the nursing program were both the hardest of her life and the most rewarding.

Now the real work begins, and she and her classmates can’t wait.

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation, they can be reached at 707-467-1018 or at http://foundation.mendocino.edu/site/ .