Wilkes Community College student Rocky Minton will receive has been named recipient of the 2011 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Workforce Development. He demonstrated incredible determination and perseverance to earn an associate degree in nursing.
Minton has received kidney dialysis since he was a teenager. Discontent with staying at home, Minton decided to pursue his dream, entering the nursing program in fall 2008. During his first year of nursing school, Minton received a kidney transplant. With hard work and cooperation from the nursing program, he remained enrolled and passed that semester’s classes.
In spring 2010, Minton’s transplant started to fail, and he had to return to dialysis and the transplant list. Still, he managed to graduate in May 2010. On June 17, 2010, he passed the NCLEX exam to become a registered nurse.
Unfortunately Minton continues to have health issues and hospitalizations. Still, he has not given up. Minton’s long-term goal is to continue his education and earn his bachelor’s degree in nursing. And, he hopes to be able to work full-time as a nurse one day. For now, he is hoping for the day that his name is once again pulled from the kidney transplant list.