PirateQ 
Nurse Pinning Ceremony. From top left, clockwise: PSC President Ed Meadows; Recessional; Proud families; Instructor Melissa Albright and student; Guest speaker Brett Aldridge; Traditional lamps; The Dylan Meyer family; Director of Nursing Dr. Corey Lofton; (center) Practical Nursing Career Certificate group.
Nursing students excitedly gathered in the sanctuary of the Pentecostal Church on Dec. 12, 2024 to prepare for one of the most monumental moments of their lives, the Pensacola State College Nurse Pinning ceremony during which they cross from being nursing students to becoming nurses in the field.
Waiting for practice to begin, Associate in Science in Nursing student Dylan Meyer reflected, “I was referred to a position as a transporter in the hospital, and I fell in love with the atmosphere of the hospital. I’ve always like helping others. Someone asked me, ‘Why don’t you go to school for nursing?’ and I thought to myself, ‘You know what? I need to do something, and I like helping people, and I will always be able to find a job.’ That was one of the biggest selling points for me, to have job availability and all the different job options that are out there for this profession.”
Meyer currently has a job at HCA Florida West Hospital and said he plans on pursuing a BSN. He said he has his foot in the door on the observation unit but is still a little undecided between ICU, surgery or the ER. “There are so many different things I can do, and I’ll probably do all of them, to be honest.” Dylan’s parents and brother drove from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, near Biloxi, to celebrate this momentous occasion with him.
Dr. Heather English, Assistant Director of Nursing at PSC since 2021, reflected, “The nursing faculty and staff work very closely with their students, watching them grow in both skill and in confidence. Just seeing them coming from intro, where they are scared to knock on the door and talk to their patients to now, where they are making life-saving decisions, and they are critically thinking [is special]. Nursing is not for the weary; it’s hard, long, intense and very rigorous. Even up to their final tests, some of them are not feeling like a nurse, and to see them walk in here with that aura about them, that they accomplished something that not everyone can do…it’s an emotional time. I’m not a very emotional person, but this is always an emotional day for me.”
The Master of Ceremonies, Director of Nursing Dr. Corey Lofton affirmed the significance of the ceremony. “It is a significant milestone that symbolizes the transition from student to professional nurse. For students, it celebrates their hard work, dedication, and readiness to join the nursing profession. Faculty see it as a moment of pride, reflecting on their role in mentoring and upholding nursing traditions. Staff view the ceremony as a recognition of their collaborative efforts in shaping future healthcare professionals. Overall, it honors the shared journey and commitment to excellence in nursing.”
Dr. Lofton welcomed all in attendance before PSC President Ed Meadows asked the 68 nursing graduates in attendance (of the 88 total graduates) to stand, turn around and recognize their family and friends in the audience. He also recognized Dr. Dusti Sluder, Dean of Health Sciences at the Warrington Campus, nursing department faculty and staff, and various other PSC faculty and staff members in attendance before addressing the graduates sitting before him.
“I challenge you to cherish the memories that you’ve had with one another. They say that 80 percent of all the friends you’ll ever had in your lifetime, you met them in school. So that leaves only 20 percent of the friends for the future, after today, unless you continue your education. I hope there is an opportunity for you to continue your education at Pensacola State, that you take advantage of that. Not only will it help you with your mobility and career track, but it will give you the skills that you need to meet the challenges of medicine in the future.”
He went on to say, “I look forward to not seeing you in your role as a nurse, but if I do, I know that I will be well taken care of.”
Chair of Board of Trustees Gordon “Flash” Sprague made some congratulatory remarks, chuckling that he had seen one of the classmates in the previous weeks before the ceremony, when he had broken some ribs and was well taken care of by that individual. He congratulated them all, affirming that “an investment in higher education always pays the best interest” as they moved to their next chapter.
Keynote speaker Brett Aldridge, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Baptist Health Care, celebrated with the graduating class as he grinned and said, “You made it. You are here.”
“Nursing is the most trusted profession in the United States; it has been for decades. It’s a noble profession that requires commitment, dedication, knowledge and hands-on skills, but it’s not just those elements that make it the most trusted profession,” Aldridge claimed. “It’s the combination of those elements, along with the ingredients of compassion and service that make the difference, that create the opportunity for the relationship between a compassionate caregiver and a patient in need that make it the most trusted profession.”
He shared personal stories that validated his gratitude to compassionate caregivers in his own life, humorously talking about the terror one of his daughters feels any time she needs to get even a minor shot and naming the pediatric nurse who helps her (and his other children) navigate those uncomfortable appointments, naming each of the four nurses who assisted his wife in giving birth to their four children, and sharing his own terrifying story of ending up in the critical care unit with a rare condition that has about a 20% mortality rate, naming his nurse who was an instrumental part of his recovery process.
According to Mr. Aldridge, that combination of skill, compassion and service is what makes those nurses unforgettable; it gives them the ability to have such a profound impact in the big moments and the small in people’s lives.
“Each one of you made the decision to be a nurse to help, to help someone in need. Our world is a better place because of nurses; our world is a better place because of you, because of your hard work and dedication, because of your commitment to serve, and because of your compassion. As you enter this profession, I have no doubt that every day you will be the nurse that makes the impact. You will be the nurse people talk about when they get the flu shot or are questioning their own mortality. You will be the nurse that your patients will never forget how you cared for them.”
Then came the time to which the nursing graduates looked forward: the pinning and nursing pledge ceremony. As students proudly walked across the stage to receive their pins, loved ones cheered and celebrated with them. All students then lit their lamps before reciting the Florence Nightingale Pledge, joined by all nurses in attendance to signify the lifelong commitment of that pledge.
Dr. Lofton explained, “The lamps in the nurse pinning ceremony symbolize Florence Nightingale’s legacy, compassion and dedication to care. They represent knowledge, hope and the commitment to serve others, connecting new nurses to the profession’s traditions. These traditions honor nursing’s history, connect new nurses to its legacy and reinforce core values of compassion, knowledge and service.”
Exiting the sanctuary, some with tears in their eyes and all with smiles on their faces, the class officially became nurses by profession, ready to compassionately make an impact on countless patients’ lives.
Earning Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees were Jonathan Alexander, Robert Black, Tyler Bradsell, Jenny Crenshaw, Janetta Davis, Jillian Eller, Jocelyn Gebhard, Gabriela Gutierrez, Ashley Jenkins, Dalton Luke, Armoni May, Stephanie Murphy, Nhat Nam Nguyen, Andrew Nicolle, Nicole Scheepsma, Brittnay Schmidt, Kelsey Viger and Mercedys Williams.
Earning Associate in Science in Nursing degrees were Kelsey Armstrong, Carl Asaba, Kalia Atwell, Michelle Batchelor, Shyanne Buckingham, Dillon Burrell, Sara Campagna, Katelynn Celi, Liliana Crawford, Angela Dailey, Rebecca Day, Tyler Erdman, Madyson Fox, Amanda Gloris, Haleigh Harp, Kaylie Hill, Stefan Howe, Desiderio Jauregui, Brenanna Knott, Jennifer LaPoint, Claire Lawry, Marie Levija, Fengxi Li, Sarah Long, Cassidy Maney, Dylan Meyer, Taylor Murphy, Nadia Panchaud, Melissa Roberts, Dyllan Rogers, Caden Sanfilippo, Justin Shaw, Autumn Silva, Raevin Sims, LeeAnna Sinibaldi, Sara Sirchia, Rachael Smith, Abigail Turner, India Valdes and Brooklyn Williams.
Earning Practical Nursing Career Certificates were Michaela Aldridge, Mary Augustitus, Jalary Brown, Loretta Campbell, Shacory Collins, Deannia Fountain, Alayna Godwin, T-Ashia Grandison, Dianeka Griffin, Jessica Hanks, Kendaisia Heidelberg Ortega, Krissy Holmes, Dominique James, Samuel Laster, Jessica Lynch, Unique McCreary, Destiny Parson Lebright, Rebecca Peterson, Courtney Reyes, Khadeidra Shoman, Litita Sinkfield, O’Neshia Spencer, Shanessa Wesley, Desere’ Williams, Alicia Wilson and Benjanet Wright.