“I want to understand the human side of ecology to make sustainable change."
Florence Nightingale called nursing an art that requires exclusive devotion. On May 20, in the Church of Our Lady of Loretto, 45 Saint Mary’s nursing students were honored for their dedication to that selfless art.
Saint Mary's student nurses, nursing professors, and
audience sing during the Nurses Pinning Ceremony
in the Church of Our Lady of Loretto on May 20, 2011.
The College’s 34th Nurses Pinning Ceremony followed a long held tradition of nursing professors presenting a pin to each graduating nurse, a gesture that signifies the transition from student to professional. The pin identifies the wearer as a graduate of a particular institution and symbolizes service to humanity. Several students and audience members brushed away tears as the Saint Mary’s students received their pins and then hugged and thanked their professors.
Trish Keresztes, assistant nursing
professor, places the Saint Mary's
nursing pin on Claire Crowley's lapel.
Claire Crowley ’11 delivered a senior retrospective and recalled being the student nurse for a young couple who had just had their first baby. “I can remember I was in awe of these new parents and their child, yet they looked at me as their baby’s nurse and were in awe of me,” she said. “I realized at that moment, we were both in the same boat because we were about to embark upon a new journey of our lives.”
After the ceremony, nursing student Elizabeth "Biss" Kelly
hugs Dan Crowley, the father of her best friend,
Claire Crowley.
As a graduate of Saint Mary’s rigorous, nationally accredited nursing program, Crowley said she was confident she and the other students were ready for that journey: “Saint Mary’s nursing program has given us the knowledge, skills, knowledge, empathy and love to be the best nurses we can be.”