OSU Institute of Technology’s Nursing students will celebrate graduation and bond with school tradition during the pinning ceremony on April 19, at 10 a.m. in Covelle Hall.
This spring graduation will bring the largest graduating class of Nursing students since the program began.
“We have 42 nursing students graduating this year, the largest class we have had graduate to date,” said Dr. Jana Martin, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “The program began in 2004 with our first graduating class in 2005 having only seven students.”
Of those 42 students, Martin said that 24 already have jobs and others are still coming in. Several students are awaiting their completion of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing (NCLEX) before they apply.
In addition, 16 are graduating Cum Laude, five are graduating Magna Cum Laude and five are graduating Summa Cum Laude. Martin said this really speaks to the depth and quality of this graduating class.
Ali Chitseko, a graduate in the Spring ceremony, plans on continuing her education in the future but has already accepted a position as an MDS Coordinator at a skilled nursing facility. She said that the feelings of graduating are bittersweet. She is sad to part ways with a lot of her classmates but is looking forward to cutting out her commute to school.
“We have shared many laughs, tears and have become like a family, said Chitseko. “I am also going to miss the faculty who were always there for me even if it was just letting me cry in their office when I was frustrated or overwhelmed.”
The tradition of the nursing pin and the ceremonial pinning we know today, actually originated in the 1860s at the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas Hospital in London as a symbol to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of the nurses with a medal for excellence.
“The nurses’ s graduation pin is a treasured symbol that conveys to others his/her association and everlasting bond with their school,” said Martin. “For the nurse, it also symbolizes honorable completion of a rigorous and physical demanding nursing preparation program. We believe all of our students are outstanding and they all receive a pin.”
Martin said that she and the whole nursing program faculty and staff are extremely proud of this class. “They have ended the path on one of their journeys and getting ready to take another path which impacts individuals lives, family members lives and their own lives.”
”Everyone at OSUIT made my journey worthwhile, including the staff in the lunch room,” said Chitseko. “If I could do it all over again I would still choose OSUIT, the staff and faculty made the journey meaningful and rewarding.”
As Chitseko prepares for Friday and the inevitable success that will follow, she gave parting advice.
“Congratulations to the Class of 2019. And to the underclassmen, trust the process. OSUIT will help you get there.”