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Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) PTA Program hosted its 21^stPinning Ceremony Saturday, August 14, 2021. The program has been graduating students since 1997, and this year 13 new students graduated with their Physical Therapist Assistant degree. This ceremony is especially touching because the student’s loved ones have the opportunity to pin them.  During the ceremony, multiple students were awarded for their hard work and dedication. Payton Moreland, Taleasha Harvey, Courtney Nugent, and Trevor Pendergraft were recognized for their participation as PTA club officers. Stuart Yeakley received an award for the Academic Student of the Year with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Lastly, Payton Moreland and Taleasha Harvey were recognized as Clinicians of the Year.

Before a student can apply to the PTA Program, they must have completed all pre-requisite classes. The program will begin the summer following the March 15th application deadline.   To become a PTA, a student must earn an Associate in Applied Science from an accredited program and pass the state license board exam after graduation. These classes are a combination of hands-on and lecture learning. This program is designed to be completed in 14 months. The overall board pass rate for NEO PTA students is 98.6% over the past 10 years. These students are a combination of traditional and nontraditional. Some of them may already have a Bachelor’s Degree.

“Pinning is a very meaningful event for these students, as it represents the culmination of a lot of hard work, stress and some tears,” said Dr. Dawn Smathers, Physical Therapy Assistant Program Director.   For more information about the PTA program please visit neo.edu/pta or contact Dawn Smathers at dawn.smathers@neo.edu or 918.540.6361.