Bloomfield College Celebrates Student Success at Annual Nurses Pinning and Baccalaureate

Alicia Cook     alicia_cook@bloomfield.edu

Bloomfield College celebrated their best and brightest students on Thursday, May 19, at its annual Nurses Pinning and Baccalaureate ceremonies.

The Frances M. McLaughlin Division of Nursing at the College began the afternoon by officially ushering students into the ranks of nursing alumni at the Westminster Arts Center’s Robert V. Van Fossan Theatre. Fran herself was present at the ceremony, and was seen posing in pictures with the new graduates.

“Welcome to the ceremony, welcome to graduation, and most importantly, welcome to the profession,” said Bloomfield College President Richard A. Levao, in his opening remarks.

The pinning ceremony is a time-honored nursing school tradition. It signifies students’ official initiation into the nursing profession. The modern ceremony dates back to the 1860s, when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of Saint George in recognition for her unstinting service to the wounded during the Crimean War. To share the honor, she in turn presented a medal of excellence to her brightest graduates. By 1916, the practice was common place throughout the United States.

Bloomfield College nursing students received their divisional pins as families and friends watched and snapped pictures in the packed theatre. BSN graduates included Fareedah Abdus-Salaam, Maia Vanesa Betancor, Monisha Borrison, Meghan Elizabeth Callahan, Sayuri S. Este, Erica Genao, Elizabeth G. Guzman, Soukaina Jasmin, Edwine K. Jean-Baptiste, Marphene Joseph, Paola Riera Mora, Jennifer Diana Orellana, Dhrupa Rathod, Ana Ruzic, Veronica Samoita, and Marsha Velez. Registered Nurses, Luz Hernandez, Amy Law-Rydberg, Patricia Chmura-Saez, Lynnel Crawford, Krystyna Ossolinska, Shereen Stubbs, and Avis Whenner graduated with their RN/BSN degrees.

View Pictures of the Nurses Pinning Ceremony.

In the second event of the day, students were honored for their academic achievements in the annual Baccalaureate ceremony.

Highlighting students who achieved a high GPA while pursuing honor society membership, graduates received honors cords for earning cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude distinctions. Students also received cords for their work in the institution’s honors societies, with Alpha Chi (all majors), Delta Mu Delta (Business), Kappa Delta Pi (Education), Psi Chi (Psychology) and Sigma Theta Tau (Nursing) bestowing their organization’s highest honor on the group of distinguished academics.

View Pictures of the Baccalaureate ceremony.

 

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