May 2026 Central Connection
May 4, 2026
CCC to hold commencement on May 8
Central Community College will hold commencement ceremonies for its Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings campuses on Friday, May 8.
The Grand Island and Hastings ceremonies will be held at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island. Commencement will begin at 10 a.m. for the Grand Island Campus and at 2:30 p.m. for the Hastings Campus.
The Columbus Campus commencement will be held at 7 p.m. in its Physical Education Center.
CCC will livestream all three ceremonies at https://www.cccneb.edu/graduation.
The keynote speakers will be this year’s Outstanding Alumni Award recipients. They are:
Ashley Ambrosek, Grand Island Campus
Ashley Ambrosek of Benkelman (pictured above, left) first earned an EMT license from CCC-Grand Island before graduating in 2014 with an associate degree in nursing. She went on to graduate with distinction from the University of Nebraska Medical Center with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and later earn a master’s degree in nursing from Colorado Technical University, where she was selected as her program’s student representative.
Ambrosek brings a broad and highly skilled background spanning inpatient care, cardiac rehabilitation, surgery and pain management to a career she has devoted to rural Nebraska. Mentored by Dr. J. Paul Meyer, she has played a key role in advancing pain management services through clinical expertise and decisive leadership. Today, she practices alongside her mentor as a pain management nurse practitioner, serving patients in Benkelman, Cambridge and Fairbury. She also is expanding Kompus Aesthetics and Wellness in Grand Island and Benkelman, which will help elevate the standard of care in these communities.
Ambrosek has a son, Luke.
Angela Grover, Hastings Campus
Angela Grover of Highlands Ranch, Colo., (pictured above, center) is a 1996 graduate of CCC-Hastings with an associate of applied science degree in dental hygiene. She completed a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from the Community College of Denver in 2018 and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Buena Vista University in 2022 and has earned certifications in myofunctional therapy and laser dentistry.
Grover, a dental hygienist at Highlands Ranch Smiles, has spent more than 25 years in private practice. She also served as a faculty member and program chair at Iowa Western Community College where she mentored students, led the development of continuing education programming and guided student involvement in community outreach efforts, including the Iowa and Nebraska Missions of Mercy. In 2019, she received both the Omaha and Nebraska Dental Hygienists’ Association Advocate of the Year awards.
She is an active member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Colorado Dental Hygienists’ Association and is a published author in Today’s RDH and RDH Magazine.
Grover has three adult children and a grandson.
Nicole Lindhorst, Columbus Campus
Nicole Lindhorst of Columbus (pictured above, right) graduated from CCC-Columbus in 2002 with an associate of applied science degree in business administration.
The Columbus native is an entrepreneur and community leader whose journey reflects the value she puts on education and the power of pursuing possibility.
After she and Mark married in 2003, they worked in the family business together while raising their children, Emma, Owen and Brody. Over the years, she has launched and grown multiple ventures, including the BeYOUtiful brand and boutique as well as the House of Colour.
Lindhorst serves on the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce board and as a Chamber Commodore and board president of the Downtown Improvement District. She also volunteers for several other local organizations and is passionate about supporting young entrepreneurs. In 2025, she launched the Lindhorst Strategic Impact Fund, a scholarship designed to support students who seek to build a business of their own.
She also an author and coach who helps women rediscover their confidence, purpose and identity through her “Becoming a Diamond” framework.
 |
|
CCC's Phi Theta Kappa All-State Academic Team members (left to right): Jessica Braun, Jason Harper, Olivia Hind, Alissa Pacheco, Chloe Smith and Whitney Williams. |
Phi Theta Kappa academic team includes CCC students
Six Central Community College students were named to the 2026 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Nebraska All-State Academic Team April 29 in a ceremony at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.
The all-state academic team is an effort sponsored by PTK, an international honor society for two-year colleges, and the Nebraska Community College Association to honor students for academic achievement, leadership and community service.
The team included the following CCC students:
Jessica Braun
Jessica Braun of Holbrook is a business administration student with an accounting major at the Grand Island Campus. She has served as president and vice president of records for PTK’s Chi Sigma chapter and president and secretary of the National Society of Leadership and Success, guided by a belief that education should improve lives and strengthen communities.
Jason Harper
Jason Harper of Hastings is a Hastings Campus student who plans to study pastoral leadership at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Through his involvement in the Transfer Edge Program and leadership roles in PTK’s Beta Alpha Delta chapter, he has developed a deep appreciation for servant leadership. He wants to build authentic, lasting community relationships guided by faith and compassion.
Olivia Hind
Olivia Hind of Lincoln is a student at the Columbus Campus who is preparing to transfer to the College of Saint Mary to pursue a nursing degree. In addition to working toward her academic goals at CCC, she competes as a student-athlete on the soccer field. She looks forward to continuing to balance her nursing studies with collegiate athletics as she works toward a career in health care.
Alissa Pacheco
Alissa Pacheco of Columbus is an associate of arts student at the Columbus Campus. She plans to transfer to Wayne State College to study elementary education and become a kindergarten teacher in Omaha. She is president of the Student Government Association and PTK’s Chi Sigma chapter. She also is a Student Ambassador, Brand Ambassador and a member of the cheer and dance team.
Chloe Smith
Chloe Smith of Kearney is a criminal justice major at the Kearney Center. She plans to earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska-Kearney and then enroll in law school. She is a full-time mother and student and owner of Chloe Goodenow Photography. Honors include the President’s Honor List and Hornady Criminal Justice and Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise awards.
Whitney Williams
Whitney Williams of Pueblo, Colo., is a health information management services major at the Hastings Campus. She is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and is the top-scoring student in Nebraska for the Phi Theta Kappa competition. She plans to continue her education while working toward her five-year goal of owning a coding business.
News briefs
King receives faculty recognition award
Venus King, a business administration instructor at Central Community College-Grand Island, received the Dale P. Parnell Faculty Recognition Award on April 12 at the American Association of Community Colleges national convention in Seattle
AACC presents the award to community college educators who demonstrate passion for students and go above and beyond what is required to ensure they are successful in their academic endeavors.
King earned degrees from Wayne State College and Doane University and worked for several years in the corporate world before joining the Grand Island Campus staff in 2017.
Baldwin retires from CCC-Columbus
Jim Baldwin of Columbus has retired as custodian supervisor at Central Community College-Columbus.
He joined the CCC staff in 1990, as a member of the security team and was promoted to custodian supervisor at the end of that year.
His previous work experience includes employment at Liquor Mart, as a gang foreman for the Union Pacific Railroad and as a bartender at The Quarthouse in Columbus. He also served in the U.S. Army for three years and was stationed in Germany.
Baldwin is a graduate of Columbus High School and went on to earn an associate of applied science degree in electronics from CCC.
He is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church and is on the Honor Guard for American Legion Post 84.
He and his wife, Jere, have been married for 50 years. They have two children and six grandchildren.
Student named New Century scholar
Whitney Williams, a student at Central Community College-Hastings, has been named a 2026 New Century Workforce Scholar and will receive a $1,500 scholarship.
This scholarship program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. New Century Workforce Scholars are selected based on their academic accomplishments, leadership, activities, and how they extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom. More than 2,300 students from nearly 1,400 college campuses nationwide were nominated. Only one New Century Workforce Scholar was selected from each state.
Employee news
Administrative Office
Sophie Markley has joined the staff as a grants compliance specialist, an area-wide position.
Grand Island Campus
Kelleen Redinger has resigned as a nursing assistant and medication aide trainer and program coordinator.
Hastings Campus
Patricia Ann “Pat” Sinnard, 94, died April 14 at Eventide in Grand Island.
Services were April 17 at Butler Volland Chapel in Hastings with burial in the Grand Island Cemetery.
She was born Nov. 10, 1931, in Grand Island to Clarice Frank Hoffman and Mildred Bernice Wingert.
After graduating from high school in 1949, she worked for the credit bureau of Grand Island and the collection service business.
She married Jack H. Sinnard on June 18, 1950, in Grand Island. They lived in Grand Island, North Platte, and Wichita, Kan., before settling in Hastings in 1961.
Pat worked for 2 years for K&R industries as a secretary. She then became a stay-at-home mom raising her sons until 1979 when she started working at CCC Hastings campus as the administrative assistant for the Health Occupations. While there she earned 3 degrees associated with her occupation. Pat retired from the Student Success Department at the age of 90 after 43 years of service with tremendous gratitude for many friendships she had made at CCC throughout her long life.
She was an accomplished seamstress and taught Bishop’s sewing classes, made down coats and wedding dresses. She was most proud of the Prayer Shawl ministries group at the First United Methodist Church. She was a member of First United Methodist Church, Eastern Star Aracia Chapter #39 and the Liederkrantz. Pat also served as a board member for the Hastings Federal Credit Union for many years.
She was preceded in death by her husband and parents.
Survivors include three sons, a brother, a sister, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be given to the Central Community College Foundation, St. Jude’s or First United Methodist Church.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.lbvfh.com.