By Staff
SPRINGFIELD—History was made Dec. 17 when the first combined pinning and commencement ceremony was held for St. John’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University (SBU).
Ridgecrest Baptist Church here hosted the event for 100 nursing graduates.
SBU and St. John’s joined together in 1996 to offer academic degrees in nursing. Since 1905, St. John’s nursing graduates have been presented with a pin to symbolically welcome them into the profession. In the past, students attended the pinning ceremony in Springfield and commencement on the SBU Bolivar campus.
“Faculty and students are excited about our first combined commencement and pinning ceremony in Springfield,” said Carole Eldridge, college of nursing dean. “With the continued growth in the number of our nursing graduates we hope combining pinning and commencement into one ceremony will make this especially meaningful celebration more convenient for both students and families.”
Amy Grannemann spoke for the ASN graduating class. Faith Simmons, RN, represented the BSN graduating class.