Funeral
Service Graduate
Achieves Top Score on National Board Exam
4-28-05
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When Kathryn Radice graduated from Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Funeral Service program last May, she was just as apprehensive about taking her board exams as her classmates were. She never imagined she would earn one of the top two scores in the nation for 2004. Radice was honored for her performance by the international conference of the Funeral Service Examining Boards in early April. She traveled to Arkansas for an awards banquet along with Robert Smith, faculty coordinator of MCCC’s Funeral Service program, and faculty member Deborah Tolboom. “Mercer’s program is excellent and the faculty is very dedicated,” said Radice, who was the winner of MCCC’s 2004 academic award in Funeral Services. A mother of three, Radice came late in life to her new profession. She worked as an antique dealer for many years and has a B.A. in English from Rutgers University. After working for a friend at Worden-Hoidal Funeral Home in Red Bank, she decided to become a certified funeral director.
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While few students match Radice’s near perfect score on the board exams, Mercer graduates have achieved a higher than average exam pass rate since 1997. Of Mercer’s full-time students who graduated in 2004, 94% passed the exam. In two recent years Mercer graduates achieved a 100% pass rate. The Funeral Service program at MCCC is the only one of its kind in the region, drawing students of all ages from a wide geographic area. The program emphasizes business management and public health, the sciences, and the legal, technical, and regulatory aspects of funeral service. Students complete internships at approved funeral homes and develop their skills in the college’s modern embalming facility. The program can be completed either full- or part-time. For more information contact Robert Smith at 609-486-4800 ext. 3472. |
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