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Spring 2016 Nursing Graduates
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. – Central Arizona College celebrated the 52nd Nursing Division Graduating Class during the Spring 2016 Nursing Pinning Ceremony held at the Signal Peak Campus on May 11.
Twenty-five students were recognized for completing the college’s nursing program, one of the most challenging curricula offered in higher education.
The pinning ceremony, a time-honored tradition of nursing schools across the country, signifies a student’s completion of the program.
Director of Nursing Tina Berry and Acting President Dr. James Moore, welcomed guests and congratulated students on their accomplishments.
The graduates were then addressed by Sarah Deshler, Professor of Nursing. She discussed the advancements in nursing practices and stressed to the students that as a nurse you are “with people in the best times and worst times of their lives.” Following a brief video showcasing the human connection to patient care from the Cleveland Clinic, Professor Deshler advised students, “Caring for your patients needs to be your priority.”
Once the graduates received their pins, class speaker Nancy Jo Zinda-Faulkner addressed her fellow graduates. “It is an honor to care for those in pain and a gift not to be taken for granted.”
Racquel Galvan was recognized with the Outstanding Clinical Student Award and Samantha Dolen was presented with the Certificate of Achievement Award.
The evening concluded with a candle lighting ceremony and the graduates taking the Florence Nightingale Pledge. The pledge, an adaption of the physician’s Hippocratic Oath, was written in 1893 by Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter and the Farrand Training School for Nurses in Detroit.
The following students received their pins during the ceremony and will receive an associate of applied science degree:
Samantha Dolen, Tamara Ericson, Bibyanna Espinoza, Racquel Galvan, Jesus Guanajuato, Kelley Hanson, Brandon Hardin, Nicole Kranendonk, Jenna Minjarez, Samantha Orozco, Marissa Patchett, Liberti Ramirez, Jeffery Reel, Nicole Schall, Jessica Schooley, Michelle Shearer, Amy Spaulding, Nysa Taylor, Justina Valenzuela, Yuri Vavages, Hailey Watson, April Wolanin, Courtney Worthington, Paulina Zapata and Nancy Jo Zinda-Faulkner.
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