Alumna Earns Chief Nursing Officer Position

Hocking College graduate Janelle Hicks '94, began serving as the Interim Chief Nursing Officer in early December at Hocking Valley Community Hospital.

 
As Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Hicks supervises four nursing directors and four full-time nursing supervisors, focusing on staffing, operations, patient outcomes and budgeting matters. Those eight individuals are responsible for more than 150 staff members.
 
"I'm excited about this new role and honored that Julie asked me to step in," Hicks said. "I'm up for the challenge and am willing to do anything I can to assist Julie and be there for the nursing directors."
 
Hicks earned her Registered Nursing degree from Hocking College and her Bachelor's of Science from Ohio University in 2003.
 
Read more about Hicks' success in the Logan Daily News. 

 

 

Hocking College graduate Laura (Bauer) Lytle '02, has followed her passion and fulfilled her lifelong dream of being a travel nurse.

Lytle decided to enter the nursing field because of her best friend's mother's important role in her life. Lytle's mother passed away when she was young, so her best friend's mother encouraged her to enter the nursing field. Little did she know, this field was her life's calling.
 
She entered travel nursing because she loved the prospect of going to travel and see the world while doing what she loves, nursing.
 
"It seemed like a dream come true, and it was! I was not disappointed with anything about traveling. I got to spend my free time exploring my area, meeting new friends, experiencing the culture and soaking in California's coast," Lytle said.
 
Lytle remarked that Hocking College taught her the values of nursing and respect for the classroom. Her favorite thing about Hocking College was the "old-school" feel to it.
 
According to Lytle, "The teachers instilled the old-school traditions, such as offering your seat to a physician, and the demand for respect in the classroom. I also liked that it was small, not a large university like OU is down the street. I felt like a person, not a number."
 
Lytle's best experiences in the field have been travel nursing and working in critical care.
 
After enjoying post-grad life, Lytle is now focusing on being a mother to her one-year-old daughter and a wife to her husband. 

"God's Will," the latest collection of poetry by Hocking College adjunct English faculty Scott Urban, has been published as part of a new line Mad Rush Books.  Far from a religious polemic, the collection features cutting-edge verse that examines loss, death, faith and, more rarely, redemption.      

Urban said, "Inspiration from my poems comes from a variety of sources - stories that friends tell me, items I read in the news and personal experiences. My imagination is caught by individuals in extreme situations, because I feel you get a glimpse of another's soul when you see how he or she reacts to the unexpected." The centerpiece of this collection is the multi-section title poem, which memorializes the victims of the 2006 West Virginia Sago mine disaster.  

"When I first read about what those miners endured - and their heroism in the face of soul-crushing horror - I knew right away I had to deal with it through my writing," Urban said.  "Both the best and the worst of humanity can be seen in this tragedy - fear, greed, hope, bravery and sacrifice."

The book is available at Athens Book Center and can be ordered through Lulu.com . Urban's previous collections include "Alight," "Skull-Job," and "Night's Voice."

Starbrick Bistro will be open Tuesday - Friday from 12 - 2 p.m. throughout the 

spring semester.

Check out the a la carte menu here. The bistro will also have a lunch buffet every Friday with a different theme each week. Buffets are $8 and include a beverage. Watch your email for Friday buffet themes.

Mitchell Farley '76

Mitchell is a graduate of the Forestry Program. He retired in 2011 with 32 years of service with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management.  Mitchell specialized in the reclamation of abandoned mine lands, reforestation and acid mine drainage (AMD) abatement. He managed the AMD Program his last six years at the Department.  

Mitchell is now doing environmental consulting work with Coldwater Consultants, LLC of Columbus, Ohio. His work typically involves pre-project environmental analysis and preparation of permit applications having to do with wetlands, streams and endangered species. He is a Board Member with Rural Action and the Appalachia Ohio Alliance and is the current President of the Ohio Mined Land Partnership.  

Mitchell and his wife own an 82 acre tree farm in Athens County and enjoy raising their Labrador Retrievers.

Greg Pollauf '77

Greg is a graduate of Recreation and Wildlife.  He got hired right after graduation by Toledo Metroparks and was sworn in as a Ranger in September 1978.  He served there for over 30 years, retiring at the end of 2008. 

Greg was married in 1983 and had three sons, the youngest, Jon, is also a Hocking alumnus. 

Since retirement, Greg took a part-time job as a Deputy Bailiff for Oregon, Ohio Municiple Court.  He states that he has been back down to Hocking several times and just can't get over how it has grown since 1977!  

Greg also wants to let fellow classmates from 1977 know that Bill Hinebaugh, who became his best friend at Hocking, passed away from cancer 15 years ago, leaving behind a wife and three children.  According to Greg, Bill was a great friend to many at Hocking.  He and several classmates shared a house in Nelsonville, which holds several great memories to this day. 

Greg would love to hear from any of his "buddies" at Hocking. Contact the Foundation office for Greg's information.

Charles Craig Pepple '80

Craig graduated with an associate degree in Forestry. He moved to Alabama in 1981 and started working in the hardwood veneer and plywood industry.  Craig has been with Mannington Wood Floors for 25 years.  He spent 4 years as the General Manager of Cahaba Veneer in Centerville, Alabama, a mill owned by Mannington.  For the past three years, he has held the position of Director of Operations in Epes, Alabama.

Kurt Simon '81

Kurt is a graduate of Wildlife Management and has spent 29 years with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Following his graduation from Hocking College, Kurt received his bachelor's degree in Agronomy from Ohio State University and later completed graduate studies at George Washington Universities, Center for Excellence in Public Leadership.  Kurt is currently a Biologist with NRCS and is the agencies Liaison to the National Wild Turkey Federation where he works nationally with conservation partners to enhance landscape level wildlife habitat projects.

Kurt and his wife Stephanie reside in Parkersburg, WV and have two daughters in college.

Lawrence "Larry" Peacock '85

Larry is a Recreation and Wildlife graduate.  After graduation, he relocated to the heart of Nascar country, Charlotte, NC. He went to work with a small race engine shop to gain experience and landed a job at Bill Davis Racing. He had great success as an engine mechanic and race track engine tuner. Larry says that the greatest day for him came in February 2002 when their race team and driver, Ward Burton, won the Daytona 500. 

After several years of hard work and desire for more, Larry moved on to work for the "King" Richard Petty.  He currently works for Richard Petty Motorsports as a track engine tuner/mechanic on the 43 Winfield sponsored Ford Mustang driven by Dakoda Armstrong in the Nascar Nationwide series. 

Larry says that he knows Nascar racing is a long way from the forest, but his education and the hands on experience that he received at Hocking proved to be very important to him and his career.

Larry and his wife, Aimee (a Buckeye grad) reside in Concord, NC. and love their fur kids: three labs and three cats.   

Julie Bridenbaugh '93

Julie is a graduate of the LPN and AD nursing programs.  She obtained her BSN from Indiana Wesleyan University, graduating magna cum laude, and her MSN Education Track degree from Bellarmine University, graduating summa cum laude.

Julie says that as a Hocking graduate, she was well prepared for the 'real world' of nursing, and was far more advanced entering the profession than graduates from other nursing schools. Hocking provided a strong foundation early in her career and she is thrilled to be teaching new nursing employees in her current position as Clinical Educator at Chillicothe VA.  She states that she still sees Hocking graduates soar above graduates from other nursing programs and commented, "Thank you for continuing excellence in your Nursing ADN program! I'm always proud to share that I am a Hocking Nursing Alumni".

In her spare time, Julie enjoys riding her motorcycle cross-country, landscaping/gardening, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

Allan F. Discua Cruz, PhD '94

Allan graduated from Computer Science at HC and was also a Phi Theta Kappa member.  After following an academic path, Allan currently is an associate professor (or lecturer) at The University of Lancaster in the UK. 

Allan says that he and his wife will be traveling to the U.S. for a conference and plan to visit Ohio and Hocking College in April. He can't wait to see again the place where he lived and from which he only has great memories.  He is looking forward to seeing how much it has changed after 20 years.