In a year when CCSNH celebrates 347 nursing graduates, the highest number of nursing graduates since 2013, Lakes Region Community College continued one of the most meaningful traditions in nursing: the pinning ceremony. During this emotional event, 17 LRCC nursing graduates were officially welcomed into the profession of nursing.
This moment marks more than the completion of coursework. It symbolizes each graduate’s commitment to caring for others with skill, empathy, and integrity. The nursing pinning ceremony carries a legacy that stretches back nearly a thousand years. Its origins trace to the 12th‑century Crusades, when monks of the Knights Hospitaller were awarded a Maltese cross for their dedication to caring for wounded soldiers. This emblem of service became an early symbol of what we now recognize as the nursing profession.
Centuries later, during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale’s groundbreaking work in battlefield hospitals earned her the Red Cross of St. George from Queen Victoria. Nightingale, often called the founder of modern nursing, inspired the tradition of presenting nursing graduates with a pin to signify their readiness to serve.
By 1916, nursing schools in the United States and the United Kingdom had formalized the pinning ceremony, transforming it into a rite of passage that honors both achievement and responsibility.
At LRCC’s ceremony, each graduate was presented with a pin by someone who helped them along their journey to graduation. For the graduates, the pin is a reminder of the challenges they’ve overcome and the lives they will touch in the years ahead.
LRCC’s nursing program has prepared these graduates with more than knowledge and clinical skills. They also have acquired the heart and resilience that define the profession. Congratulations to our 2026 graduates:
- Ambyr Adjutant
- Isaiah Atwood
- Ryan Betar
- Haley Bissonnette
- Ginny Bussiere
- Rebecca Buttrick
- Sarah Cordova
- Megan Curran
- Gabbi Davidson
- Riley Farnsworth
- Nathan Lamarre
- Nicole Morrill
- Alyzabeth O’Connell
- Senka Sevegjarto
- Jaclyn Smith
- Nicole Valley
- Tyler West
Read more about our recent nursing graduates on NHPR.