OCTC Students Named to KCTCS All-Academic Team

Carlee Hanger and Ashley Wagner

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (05/03/2024) — Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) is pleased to announce that Carlee Hanger and Ashley Wagner were named to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) All-Academic Team for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Thirty-two students, two from each of the 16 colleges, were selected by KCTCS for this prestigious recognition. Students were chosen based on a rigorous process that focuses on academic performance and community service.

CARLEE HANGER

Carlee Hanger is an Early College student set to graduate at 18 with her high school diploma from Apollo High School and an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science degree from OCTC. She was born in North Platt, Nebraska. Moving to Owensboro, Kentucky, twelve years ago with her family. Hanger was home-schooled from grades 5-10 and enrolled at Apollo/OCTC's Early College to finish her final two years.

Hanger credits her parents for their support and guidance. However, during these past two years, they have encouraged her to make her own choices and now trust her to make her own decisions. Carlee has three older sisters and a younger brother who will start Early College this fall. Faith, family, and community are most important to her, and she found a special "community" here at OCTC.

Transitioning from home school to OCTC was not that difficult for Carlee. She found OCTC to be a caring and helpful campus. She had exceptional instructors and praised those she met through classes and the leadership through her experience with Phi Theta Kappa. Dr. Tim Dick was the most influential instructor and she likened him to a surrogate grandpa. She worked as his lab assistant in a work-study position. "Dr. Angela Ash, Nikki Wimpelberg and Mary Kinney also had an impact on my view of college, and they've offered me so much encouragement over the past two years," Carlee recalled.

Hanger was also involved in the Hager Scholars program and enjoyed working on personal projects each semester. Her four projects while at OCTC were Poetry: Connections and Relationships, Marijuana and Nicotine Addictions, Para mentors for Students with Disabilities, and her final project, Researching Technology Addictions. Because of her research on Internet Addiction Disorders, she has an interest helping start a facility in this area.

Hanger plans to continue her education and pursue a career in nursing.

ASHLEY WAGNER

A non-traditional student, Ashley Wagner enrolled in OCTC's Nursing program twenty years after her high school graduation. This mother of three also helps care for her mother and is an expert at juggling studies, family life, and work. She was involved in the IV League nursing club, served as the vice president of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society, and volunteered at the Opportunity Center, all while working as an extern in the cardiac unit at Owensboro Health.

Wagner remarked, "I know I had been given a second chance. I was now doing this for me and for my children, so they would come to realize that having hope is important and you must be your own inspiration. You have to know you are worthy and be willing to seek it, want it, and work for it yourself."

Wagner was selected to speak at her nursing class pinning celebration and at the May 7 Graduation ceremony. She will proudly wear the Kentucky Nursing Association Honor Cord, representing her volunteer work at the Opportunity Center.

Her advice to other students at OCTC would be not to pass up opportunities when they knock at the door. She added, "My experience in Phi Theta Kappa was like a gateway to many other offers, leadership opportunities, and above all a sense of belonging."

Wagner credited her success at OCTC in part to the support of Dr. Tim Dick, faculty advisor for PTK, Nikki Wimpelberg, staff advisor for PTK, Dr. Veena Sallan, vice president of Academic Affairs, the nursing faculty, and all the members of her nursing class.

Wagner has secured a full-time position in the cardiac unit at Owensboro Health, and her future plans are to continue her education and work toward a bachelor's in nursing and, eventually, perhaps a master's and a doctorate.

For more information on becoming a student at OCTC please visit Owensboro.kctcs.edu. New terms begin soon and you can attend classes on campus, on-line or select hybrid courses that are a blend of both.