NWF State College Nursing Graduates Honored at Pinning Ceremony
Associate of Science in Nursing graduates5/8/2012
The Nursing programs at Northwest Florida State College held a pinning ceremony May 7 to recognize the 12 students who completed the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and 34 students who completed the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree during the Spring term. Associate of Science graduates are qualified to take the Registered Nursing (RN) licensure exam. Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates are current RNs who completed the baccalaureate program in Nursing.
Two Bachelor of Science graduates were recognized at the ceremony with special awards: A. Gabriela DeJesus, RN of Niceville with the "BSN Academic Excellence Award," and Teressa Hudson, RN of Crestview with the "Lamp of Nursing Leadership Award." The Associate of Science graduates earning special honors were Ruth Berry of Niceville with the "Academic Achievement in Nursing Award," Philip Ingle of DeFuniak Springs with the "Clinical Excellence in Nursing Award," and Amanda Middleton of Shalimar with the "Future Nurse Leadership Award." The NWF State College nursing faculty expressed special thanks to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center for donating the nursing pins for the ceremony.
Since 1880, graduates of U.S. schools of nursing have received pins from their nursing director that identifies them, even more conspicuously than their diplomas, as distinct representatives of their institution. The tradition of the nursing school pin has evolved for more than a century, with origins dating to 1855 when Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, received a specially designed brooch from Queen Victoria. Much like a regimental badge, the pin was a testimony to Nightingale's allegiance, character, purpose and inspiration for her service to soldiers during the Crimean War. The pin received by Nightingale further represented the medieval practice of heraldry as a badge of identity, training & prestige in the 19th century.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Graduates:
Baker: Amber Smith
Crestview: Rebecca Castleberry, Teressa Hudson, Tracy Maki, Michelle Parkin
Destin: Samantha Mendenhall
Fort Walton Beach: Tiffany Goddard
Navarre: Carrie Adkins, Dora Rieves
Niceville: A. Gabriela DeJesus, Jennifer Witten
Pensacola: Lydia McCorvey
Associate of Science in Nursing Graduates:
Crestview: Tanya Baxter, Roxanne Cloutier, Kristen Fountain, Lacee Garvin, Melissa Gerasch, Heather M. Linville, Kathryn Mailoto, Johanna McGraw, Shareena Mitchell, Sheila Paxton
DeFuniak Springs: Kaeli Fischer, Philip Ingle, Whitney McCormick
Destin: Jamie Anzek-St. John
Fort Walton Beach: Christina Barrero, Cassandra Besabe, Katherine Kuehlthau, Colin P. Meyer, Tina Rhoades, Gladys Longoria Rodriguez
Hurlburt Field: Christin Shuping
Mary Esther: Eric A. Kidwell, Katrina Nicole Maris
Miramar Beach: Wanda Figueiredo, Amy Owen
Niceville: Mark L. Bagby, Ruth Berry, Anita Fleischman, Amy Mitchum, Joshua Monk
Shalimar: Jennifer Morganne Hammac, Toni Hodson, Katrina Kilpatrick, Amanda Middleton