Prince George - Thirty-one CNC practical nursing students will graduate Friday, Sept. 4 at their annual convocation ceremony.

With the event set for 2 p.m. in the college’s atrium in Prince George, this year’s class features students ranging in age from 18 to just over 50, who’ve spent the last 49 weeks learning skills to work in a variety of health care settings.

For the faculty, it will be a bittersweet moment when students receive their parchment and earn their certificates.

“We have watched them grow into stronger individuals with integrity and professionalism, but their personal growth has been phenomenal throughout the year,” said practical nurse co-ordinator and faculty member Jacquie Scobie. “They’ve put their lives on hold … some are single parents and others have families with several children, who often have to do three to four hours of homework every night. And they have all helped each other out.”

Prince George –– Students at the College of New Caledonia continue to be outraged that the provincial government continues to ignore the needs of BC’s lowest paid works. Yesterday, British Columbia became the lowest minimum wage province in all of Canada as New Brunswick raised its minimum wage to $8.25 

“It’s simple, we live in one of the richest counties on earth, as such, every person should be able to make a wage that can sustain him or her above the poverty line while working a full time job,” said Alyssa Clark, External Affairs Coordinator of the College of New Caledonia Students’ Union. “And I don’t understand how increasing the minimum wage is going to cost business an extra 25% in payroll costs when they are already claiming very few people work at the minimum wage already, the increase to the minimum wage will simply be protecting those workers.”