Laurel Ridge recognizes 125 registered nursing graduates in pinning ceremony

Laurel Ridge honored 125 newly-minted registered nurses during a virtual pinning ceremony on Saturday. There were 97 RN graduates on the Middletown Campus and 28 on the Fauquier Campus.

For the second straight year, the Covid-19 pandemic meant the ceremony could not take place in person on each campus. However, nursing graduates who took part in drive-thru diploma walks last week were able to be pinned in person at that time.

During the virtual celebration, Laurel Ridge President Kim Blosser told the graduating nurses the college is proud of them.

“You have persevered, you have completed this program, you have done things no other nursing student has probably ever done in their program,” she said. “Many of you have been part of our vaccination clinics. You have treated covid patients on your clinicals. You have done things that will serve you well in your nursing career. We are so, so proud of all that you have been able to accomplish.”

Teena Stevic was the class speaker for the Fauquier Campus cohort of RN students.

“Little did we know that halfway through our first year, the world around us would be greatly impacted by a pandemic and our education would change [to] an almost immediate transition into online schooling,” she said. “Labs and clinicals were canceled. Again, [we were] wondering, ‘what have we signed up for? Will we be able to do this? How are we going to learn to care for patients when we’re learning online?’”

Thankfully, Laurel Ridge’s nursing professors reassured their students, “You can do this,” Stevic said.

“We found ourselves at the frontline of the pandemic, working with contact tracing and later, when vaccines became available, we administered vaccines at the hospital, first to health care workers and later, to residents in our community,” she said.

Rather than discouraging them from their calling, the pandemic highlighted “the determination, the courage and the adaptability” of the nursing students, faculty and hospital partners, said Chad Godfrey, who was the class speaker for the Middletown Campus’s nursing program.

“For some of you, this is your first college experience; others, like myself, took a bit longer to discover nursing,” said Godfrey, a U.S. Army veteran. “Regardless of our backgrounds or the paths that we traveled getting here, it is our calling to care for others that unites us.”

The pinning ceremony was also a chance to present awards, including the Outstanding Graduate for each campus.

Fauquier Campus nursing program lead Amanda Brooks said the award goes to the student with the highest grade-point average for nursing courses only. This year, the campus had three students who graduated with a 4.0 GPA:  Stephanie Hoshauer, Colleen Manfre and Tyler Willis.

“These students have been mentors to their classmates, have juggled families, school, work and volunteer time, and are always willing to lend a hand to their fellow classmates,” said Dr. Brooks.

Four Outstanding Graduates, all with 4.0 GPAs, were named on the Middletown Campus:  Donna Kelly, Francis Atangan, Emma Delaney and Christopher Williams.

“They have demonstrated professionalism, conscientiousness, critical thinking, and above all, determination to overcome obstacles,” said Kristina Simpson, nursing lead in Middletown and the director of health professions at Laurel Ridge. “They have been leaders and have gone above and beyond to ensure their success both in the classroom and in clinical settings.”

The following awards were also presented during the pinning ceremony:

• Spirit of Nursing Award, Fauquier: Michael Williams
• Spirit of Nursing Award, Middletown: Chad Godfrey, Francis Atangan
• Transcendence Award, Fauquier: Irene Mburu
• Transcendence Award, Middletown: Gabby Piteira and Shandi Stanford

To watch the pinning ceremony, visit www.laurelridge.edu/commencement.