LIMA — J. Kathryn Lukey, of Sidney, is one of the first five people to be inducted into the newly established Rhodes State College Alumni Circle of Excellence.

The circle recognizes Rhodes State College and Lima Technical College graduates who are doing exceptional work in their career fields, communities and for the college.

The 2018 inductees, the first to be named to the circle, were honored during the 48th Rhodes State College commencement, May 5.

Lukey earned an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing in 1978. She was 40 and the mother of four children when she started her nursing degree program at Lima Technical College. With the support and encouragement of her husband, Jack, she successfully balanced family and education. Her career in healthcare and prevention started as a staff nurse and a school nurse. In 1983, she established and co-chaired the Miami-Shelby Consortium for Substance Abuse Prevention. Her 15 years with the consortium resulted in the creation of DARE programs in the high schools of Miami and Shelby counties and numerous in-service teacher trainings, parent workshops and special events on prevention topics. She retired in 1998. Volunteer service has included assisting with establishing an Alumni Club for Lima Technical College and OSU-Lima in the 1990s, work with the Shelby County Democrat Women’s organization and membership on the Edison State Community College Board of Trustees and its Foundation Board.

“Lima Tech began my journey to a life time of learning,” Lukey said. She later received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Urbana University and Master of Science in social agency counseling from the University of Dayton.

Other 2018 inductees were Daniel D. Fultz, of Charleston, South Carolina, dean of the College of Humainities and Scoial Sciences and professor of communication at Charleston Southern University; Christine Joseph, of Lima, administrator on site at Lima Memorial Hospital; Nancy Rhinock, of Cincinnati, senior parole officer for the State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority; and Nancy Williams Shuffle, of Ada, a dental hygienist who sits on several professional boards.