Northwestern College’s Violet L. Schumacher School of Nursing held a pinning ceremony on Saturday, March 24 to honor the College’s March 2018 Nursing graduates. Twenty four (24) Nursing students participated in the traditional pinning ceremony that signifies a student’s formal induction into the Nursing profession.
The pinning ceremony took place in the auditorium of Northwestern College’s Bridgeview Campus where the Violet L. Schumacher School of Nursing is located. Students, staff and faculty all played a part in the ceremony, which was personalized to reflect the particular nurses being pinned this spring. Northwestern College’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) Dimitrios Kriaras served as the master of ceremonies and introduced the speakers as well as the multiple segments of the ceremony.
The March 2018 graduates of Northwestern College’s Violet L Schumacher School of Nursing include: Oluwafunmilayo Babajide King; Blanca M. Castro; Samaria K. Clark; Adreina D. Combs; Elsy Diaz; Jamela I. Elayyan; Krystal N. Frison; Toni L. Goggins; Nicole M. Harrison; Erica Hernandez; Maria R. Martin; Alexa A. Martinez; Keyanna A. Meeks; Regina A. Morgan; Teena L. Richardson; Grisel Ruiz; Brianna N. Sabbia; Esveyde Sanchez; Eva Schuth; Briana A. Stark; Dorian M. Stokes; Jessiya Thomas; Nakia B. Williams; and Janell R. Wrightsell.
The March pinning ceremony featured Graduate Nurse Adreina Combs who served as the student speaker selected to represent the Class. In her speech, Adreina described the journey she and her classmates had taken to get to that morning’s ceremony.
The 2018 Nursing Pinning Ceremony featured the traditional presentation of pins to each individual student, with all of the students being pinned by the Dean of Nursing, Ann Amaefule. The ceremony concluded with the lighting of a candle held by a lantern, symbolizing the passing of the flame from the founder of professional nursing, Florence Nightingale. Associate Professors Cynthia Brown and Crystal Howard lit the first candles; their flames were then passed along to each Graduate nurse, one by one lighting their individual lanterns. After all of the lanterns were lit, Assistant Professor Jameszetta James led the graduates in the recitation of the Nurses Oath, Florence Nightingale’s Pledge. The event concluded with a reception hosted by the College and the Student Nurses Association (SNA), with several SNA members serving as hosts.
Students that successfully complete the Nursing Program of the Violet L. Schumacher School of Nursing will have earned their Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Nursing, and upon passage of the NCLEX-RN licensure examination, will receive the Registered Nurse (RN) designation. Students that completed their coursework at the end of the winter quarter will be eligible to sit for the upcoming NCLEX exam.
The Violet L. Schumacher School of Nursing opened in the Fall of 2010 and was named for a student of Northwestern College (formerly known as Northwestern Business College from 1902-2008) who later became an employee and then finally purchased the College in 1958. Violet Schumacher was a visionary who advocated for students seeking higher education and served as President Emeritus of the College until her death in 2013 at the age of 98. Her son Lawrence Schumacher has served as Northwestern College’s President since 1978. COO Kriaras provided a brief history of the College during the ceremony, in addition to a summary of the life of the School of Nursing’s namesake, Violet Schumacher.
