Newman University recognized 15 candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree during the fall 2018 Nursing Pinning Ceremony.
The ceremony was held Dec. 14 in the De Mattias Performance Hall. The formal event allows for nursing candidates to receive their Newman University nursing pins, recognizing completion of the baccalaureate of science in nursing (BSN) program.
The Newman pin is unique to the university and was designed by the first graduating BSN class in 1984 at what was then Kansas Newman College. The traditional event for nursing program graduates dates back more than 130 years in the United States.
The ceremony included a welcome from Newman President Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D., and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Long, Ph.D.
After the pinnings, students Anna Rosendale and Hannah Young shared memories from their time in the nursing program.
Both speakers reminisced about the knowledge they gained, the lessons they learned and the important life skills they will take with them into their future.
The ceremony also included the naming of the Distinguished BSN Graduate Award.
The award is given to a graduating nursing student who has a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA and demonstrates an exceptional commitment to the nursing profession and involvement in the Newman and greater Wichita communities.
The fall 2018 award was bestowed upon Ellen Kurtzweil of Wichita, Kansas.
Jane Weilert, dean of Nursing and Allied Health, said, “Ellen wrote on her nursing application in 2015 that ‘displaying confidence and compassion is how I hope people would describe me as a nurse.’ And in 2018, on the application for this award, she wrote, ‘I am most focused on being the best bedside nurse I can be and being an advocate for my patients with confidence and kindness. It will always be my responsibility to place my patients as my priority, even when I become busy and tired.’
“We as faculty believe those words — compassion, advocate, confidence
Kurtzweil will begin her career in the Wesley Medical Center Surgical and Intensive Care Unit while pursuing her nurse practitioner degree.
Kurtzweil said, “I’m really honored. I’ve enjoyed all these professors that have helped and supported me. I’m just really happy.”
She added that her experience at Newman was memorable and if there is one thing that she will take away from her experience in the program, it is that “nursing is the the little things and it’s in the details, and your patients notice those things.”
The Newman University BSN candidates for fall 2018 are:
*Indicates Sigma Theta Tau inductee
Andale, Kansas
Madison Seiler
Jared Smarsh
Conway Springs, Kansas
Emma Gerber
Emporia, Kansas
*Leighton Hainline
Haysville, Kansas
Anna Rosendale
Madison Vanderford-Hagin
McPherson, Kansas
Makenzie Benson
Mulvane, Kansas
Hannah Young
Wichita, Kansas
Kyle Betzen
Lori Amber Hemmen
*Ellen Kurtzweil
*Kylie Logan
Winfield, Kansas
Breanna Pingry
Leesburg, Alabama
Kayla Williams
Tulsa, Oklahoma
*Ashley Hanlon
