"It has been an honor to guide you through your journey.”
School of Health Sciences Department of Nursing Holds Annual Pinning Ceremony for 2017 Graduates
"You have acquired everything you need to know for the profession of nursing," said Chair and Director of the Touro College School of Health Sciences (SHS) Department of Nursing, Sandra Russo, to 65 graduates at the traditional pinning ceremony held on Friday, June 23rd. "It has been an honor to guide you through your journey, and now, there is nothing more to say than...Welcome."
Held at the Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center of Kingsborough Community College, the event honored the symbolic pinning ritual, which originated in the 1860s at the Nightingale School of Nursing in London. Today it signifies the completion of the nursing program, which enables nurses to sit for the state licensure examination and then practice nursing. Each of the 35 Associate of Applied Sciences and Bachelor of Science dual degree students, and 29 Bachelor of Science degree students, were presented with a pin, and chose a faculty member to pin it on, before the collective candle lighting ceremony and recitation of the International Pledge for Nurses.
Joined by family, friends, and faculty, the class of 2017 heard congratulatory remarks from SHS Dean Louis Primavera, Professor Edward Lemmo, and Class President Yehuda Shoob, who was also presented with the award for outstanding leadership. AAS/BS dual degree student Moshe Damavandi received the award for academic excellence. The ceremony concluded with a slideshow presentation created by graduate Amanda Landino, followed by a celebratory reception.
Third-generation nurse Jacqueline Lovell is proud of all she has accomplished over the past four years. Originally from Ghana, she took several years off from school to care for her daughter, born with cerebral palsy. “I always wanted to be a nurse, and today I celebrate achieving that dream,” she says. Both her mother and grandmother are nurses, and she plans to continue the family legacy by working in community nursing, providing patients with preventative care and health education after procedures, so that they do not return to the hospital.
Graduates are currently busy preparing for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), including BS degree student Maria Santos, who plans to also spend the summer doing a Maimonides externship with Professor Antoinette Poretta. “It feels amazing to celebrate today, but we also know a lot of work is still ahead of us,” Maria says. “You need friends and faculty to get you through it. At Touro, they are always there for you, and that support means so much.”
