Penn State Shenango celebrates commencement, nursing ceremonies
Penn State Shenango's class of 2022 celebrated commencement with remarks by graduating physical therapist assistant student Rachel Maynard (pictured), Ty Cole of JCL Energy, and Penn State Shenango Alumni Society President Darren Steele. More photos of Shenango's graduates are available on Flickr. Credit: Brooke Doerfler / Penn State. Creative Commons
SHARON, Pa. — Penn State Shenango celebrated the class of 2022 at a commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7. The 44 graduates were honored with addresses by Ty Cole of JCL Energy, graduating student Rachel Maynard, and Penn State Shenango Alumni Society President Darren Steele. Prior to the celebration, a private nursing pinning ceremony was hosted by faculty to welcome graduates to the profession.
Nursing graduates Ivy Blancharad, Jasmine Day, Monica Downes, Dannielle Pugh, Maggie Robertson and Kathleen Young gathered by the Nittany Lion Shrine after the nursing pinning ceremony on May 7.
Pins have been used to identify nurses and caregivers since the 12th Century. The Knights of the Order of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist tended to soldiers who were injured in the Crusades, their uniforms were marked with a Maltese cross.
In the 1860s, during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George in recognition of her service to wounded soldiers. She continued the tradition, awarding medals of excellence to select graduates of the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas’ Hospital. Soon after, the practice was adopted across the United States.Credit: Penn State. All Rights Reserved.
Nursing Pinning Ceremony
Nursing faculty at Penn State Shenango welcomed the program’s newest nursing graduates into the profession during a pinning ceremony that takes place before commencement. These graduating students were presented with the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing's official pin.