Candlelight Pinning Ceremony Marks Graduation of Nursing Students

Eleanor Mann School of Nursing graduates enter the sanctuary of St. James Missionary Baptist Church.

Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, assistant director of the nursing school, welcomes students' families.

Students wait for their names to be called.

Joshua Lawler is congratulated by Allison Scott, left, after being pinned by Bettie Miller, right.

Christine Salmon lights the candle of Ferren Rippond as Jessica Munch and Mary Ann Moody watch.

Students recite the Nightingale Pledge to faithfully practice the profession of nursing.

Nursing students hold a single red rose with their candles.

Students congratulate each other before blowing out their candles.

Photo Submitted

Christine Salmon, from left, lights the candle of Ferren Rippond as Jessica Munch and Mary Ann Moody watch. Photos by Brooke McNeely.

Nursing students at the University of Arkansas received their nursing pins and recited the Nightingale Pledge by candlelight during a ceremony May 7, the evening before commencement exercises of the College of Education and Health Professions.

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing graduated 46 students this spring. Seven are also graduates of the college's Honors Program, and 19 are members of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society.

Pinning ceremonies date back to before the turn of the 20^th century, marking the passage of student nurse to practicing nurse. After the students are pinned, they light candles and recite the pledge named for Florence Nightingale, an English nurse known for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War and for laying the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment in 1860 of her nursing school in London.