A packed Corbet Theater roared with applause Friday evening in celebration of the newest cohort of registered nurses to complete their training at Centralia College.
Twenty-nine nursing students were pinned by their loved ones while surrounded by family and friends during the ceremony.
The ceremony, practiced by most nursing programs in the U.S., is separate from graduation. It’s meant to welcome the students to their new profession as fully fledged nurses.
Program director Jenny Bauska first welcomed students, faculty and all those in the crowd, thanking them for coming to the event to celebrate the students.
As things got going, everyone's attention was on the students seated on the stage. They were dressed to impress and surrounded by flowers and decorations, as well as their professors and program faculty members. After the welcoming remarks from Bauska, two student speakers, Hailey Brann and Lizet Rosas Cruz, took to the podium. The graduates, who were selected to speak by their classmates, thanked the faculty, supporters and their fellow classmates for persevering through the challenges of the program.
“To my classmates: This journey would have been impossible without you,” Rosas Cruz said. “From the countless late nights and sharing notes with each other to the breakdowns, the pep talks and everything in between, the relationship we shared is irreplaceable. As we move forward, let’s never forget why we chose this path; not for a paycheck and not for status, but to make a difference. To be the nurse who listens, who notices and who cares.”
The two also presented faculty members Mary Capen, Makayla Garner, April Morgenroth, Teneal Gustafson and Jackie Garrett with flowers in appreciation for their support and guidance during the program. Closing out their time, the speakers recognized the program as the foundation of a new profession.
“This isn't the end. This is the beginning,” Brann said. “Here's to every life we’ll touch, every part we’ll help heal, and to never forgetting where we started. We are so proud to graduate beside each and every one of you.”
Following the students, Gustafson came to the podium as the student-selected faculty speaker for the evening. After echoing the appreciation and respect already paid to many in the room, she transitioned to her relationship with the students. As a student adviser at Centralia College, Gustafson said she knew many of the graduates before they entered the program and had seen many go from aspirations to completion of their studies.
“A few of the students sitting here tonight have been my advisees for several years,” Gustafson said. “I met them long before they were accepted into the program. When getting into nursing school was still a dream, they weren’t sure they would come through. I've watched them work through setbacks, rejections, wait lists, and never give up. I’ve been cheering them on from the very beginning. And seeing them here tonight ready to be pinned, it's hard to put into words how meaningful it is.”
By way of closing, Gustafson spoke to the challenges of being a new nurse, the doubt and fear that can come with the job, and asked the students to be patient with themselves and confident in their own abilities.
“I want you to know that when I became a nurse, I was scared, too,” Gustafson said. “I had imposter syndrome big time. I doubted myself constantly, and you will, too, at times. It's normal. It's human … You don't have to know everything on day one. No nurse ever does. What matters is that you care deeply, that you keep asking questions and that you never forget the ‘why’ that brought you here in the first place.”
After the speakers, the official pinning ceremony began as Capen and Garner came to the front and began reading off the names of their students one by one. When their name was called, each student rose from their seat and came to the front of the stage to be pinned by a chosen loved one.
Mothers, partners, children, friends and others chosen by the graduates walked forward with a white stole to drape over students’ shoulders, smiling and hugging before walking off the stage and back to their seats.
After each student had been pinned, Morgenroth asked the cohort to stand and repeat after her the Florence Nightingale Pledge, which is often recited by new nurses and is similar to the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors.
“I shall abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and shall not take or knowingly administer a harmful drug,” reads the pledge. “I shall do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling.”
With the completion of their oaths, Bauska, one final time, thanked those who came and officially welcomed the students as fellow nurses before the students came down from the stage to be received by hordes of their loved ones. They began celebrating immediately in the lobby of the theater, taking photos and enjoying a reception put on by Centralia College.
According to Bauska, most of the students in the class of 2025 have already found jobs with local hospitals and medical practices, including Providence Centralia Hospital, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Northwest Pediatrics, Valley View Medical Center and others.
