Connors State College celebrated the graduation of 43 new nurses in a pinning and candle lighting ceremony held May 6, 2016, in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Warner Campus. Graduates were pinned by a faculty, staff, family member or friend of their choice, and provided with a Bible courtesy of the Gideons International Auxiliary.
The ceremony signifies the students official initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses, said Joyce Johnson, Division Chair for Nursing & Allied Health. The ceremony is rich with symbolism. It is the right of passage which can be traced all the way back to the twelfth century.
The modern ceremony dates back to the 1860s, when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George in recognition for her diligent service to the injured during the Crimean War. To share the honor, she in turn presented a medal of excellence to her brightest graduated. By 1916, the practice of pinning new graduates was standard throughout the United States, and Connors follows this practice.
Student speakers Kelly Jones, Autumn Kirkpatrick, Emilie Fite and Jennifer Fulk gave tribute to their nursing school memories, fellow students and faculty, while Stephen McClurg and Chasity Ross performed Whenever You Remember.
Traditional Graduates
Jessika Baird, Jessye Brown, Lindsey Byrd, Jaycie Cox, Larissa Frazier, Cortney Giles, Kristen Hemphill, Amanda Hickman, Kelly Jones, Autumn Kirkpatrick, Alyssa Langford, Bailey McClellan, Stephen McClurg, Lenia Moore, Melissa Ogletree, Chasity Ross, Brittany Swinford, Amelia Tinnin, Emily Wilson.
Career Ladder Graduates
Tyler Agee, Jawnna Brooks, Riley Bunch, Bennette Canady, Brandy Chiles, Danny Dause, Kathy Dicus, Akilah Dillingham, Stephanie Dyer, Ashley Eaton, Lani Falwell, Emilie Fite, Jennifer Fulk, Lane Hoffmeister, Ashley Jameson, Ginevra Kinnell, KayLee Mizell, Joseph Moore, Tara Moore, Misty Morris, Heather Pendley, Daniell Smith, Jennifer Thompson, Terri Winklepleck.