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.
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.
View all of the Zeta class award recipients.
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!
Ephesians states, “Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord.”
This student was assigned to serve the disadvantaged and underinsured women and children of Detroit. This clinic provides prenatal, post-partum, and infant care for FREE. In one of her clinical reflections, she shared the struggle of caring for these mothers some who have mental issues, need food, shelter, or have unsafe living situations. She voiced her frustration with not being able to help them all. She said,
“The work we do is so very special, just like all of the moms we care for. Having the opportunity to work with these women, where clinic is typically an escape for them, is so gratifying. I love being able to help make a difference in these moms lives and help them bring a beautiful, healthy baby into the world.”
The director of the clinic who served as her preceptor wrote:
“She is a tremendous asset to our Medical Team. Her organization, communication skills as well as her calm, kind, and compassionate demeanor in spite of a frequently chaotic atmosphere at the Clinic prove to me that she is a leader. Her faith in God is evident making her together with all of her above skills a perfect leader to carry the Clinic into the future. All of the staff including the medical team feel blessed to have her serving with us.”
I’m incredibly proud to present the SERVICE award to Amy Kindred.
Previous Service Awardees:
Kalli Hunley (Omega class, Spring 2020)
Stanley Stinson (Delta class, Fall 2019)
Tim Felska (Beta class, Spring 2019)
Shalena Blocker (Alpha class, Fall 2018)
Learn more about Concordia’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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