15 May 17 New Graduates from HU Nursing Program

Huntington University honored 17 graduating nursing students in a traditional pinning ceremony on Friday, May 11.

The Class of 2012 is the second graduating class from the Department of Nursing. The 2011 class had 10 students.

The history of the nursing pinning ceremony stems from the Crimean War when Florence Nightingale took 38 women to Turkey to nurse sick and wounded British soldiers. As she cared for her patients by the light of a lamp, Florence Nightingale became known as the “lady with the lamp.” As a tribute to Florence’s dedication, the lamp icon became symbolic of nursing. Today, the nursing pin is used to signify this same dedication: the end of formal education and the beginning of practice, a way of welcoming graduates into the nursing profession.

At the ceremony, students received the Huntington University Department of Nursing pin with the department emblem.

This year, Kortney Burton (right) received the senior leadership award for the Class of 2012 from Dr. Margaret Winter, Director of Nursing. She was nominated by her peers.