On Saturday, December 12, Concordia University Ann Arbor School of Nursing celebrated the Pinning Ceremony for the Zeta Class, the fifth cohort to graduate from CUAA's school of nursing.
The Zeta Class pinning ceremony was originally planned to be celebrated in person with a socially-distant ceremony in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, but was shifted to a virtual format when the stay-at-home restrictions were extended earlier in the week.
In addition to the pinning ceremony, the Zeta class will celebrate the completion of their degree with a virtual commencement ceremony on Sunday, December 13 at 2 p.m. ET, featuring special guest speaker Tim Tebow, two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winner, and current ESPN analyst.
Each semester, Concordia’s nursing faculty and staff nominate students from the graduating cohort who best represent the core values of the nursing program: service, excellence, compassion, and integrity. An additional award, the Nightingale Award, was created as a tribute to Florence Nightingale who embodied nursing as her life’s vocation. The recipient of this award exemplifies that same character and calling.
Compassion Award
Olivia Perry (’20)
Presented by Kathleen Sheehan: “At my previous place of employment, another nursing school, there was actually a debate going on among the faculty about weather to leave the words ‘art of nursing’ in our mission statement. Some faculty wanted to only refer to the ‘science of nursing’.” Read more…
Service Award
Amy Kindred (’20)
Presented by Kathie Pereira: “The student receiving this years’ SERVICE award discovered she had a servant’s heart and boy did it shine!” Read more…
Integrity Award
Brooke Opland (’20)
Presented by Peggy McLaughlin: “The award I am giving today is for a student who exemplifies integrity. Integrity is of our program’s cornerstone virtues, and is defined as soundness of moral character, and adherence to ethical principles. In the Bible, the Book of Proverbs mentions integrity: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” (Proverbs, 10:9, GNB). Read more…
Excellence Award
Katie Farley (’20)
Presented by Anita Simmons: “The award I am giving today is for a student who exemplifies excellence.
Excellence is one of our program’s cornerstone virtues. It is defined as the demonstration of actions and character that show merit or greatness that are above the expected level.” Read more…
The Nightingale Award
Alexandra Ferreria (’20)
Presented by Cindy Fenske: “For the sick it is important to have the best. -Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale is an iconic figure who is responsible for the philosophy and underpinnings of modern day nursing. Prior to her, nursing was looked down upon as unimportant and as a low status job. Through her efforts, nursing was reborn into the trusted profession we know today.” Read more…
View more School of Nursing senior award recipients
Alpha Class (Fall 2018)
Beta Class (Spring 2019)
Delta Class (Fall 2019)
Omega Class (Spring 2020)
Learn more about Concordia University Ann Arbor’s school of nursing.
— Rachel Thoms served on Concordia University's Strategic Communications team from 2015-2022. Any inquiries about this story can be sent to news@cuaa.edu.
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