Josh Peterson

Motlow State hosted its 49th Annual Nursing Pinning
Ceremony on May 6 in the Nisbett Center at the College’s Moore County campus. Pins were
presented to 55 students who have successfully completed the Nursing Program’s graduation
requirements.

The ritual of pinning a nurse is a long-standing tradition held at the conclusion of a nursing
student’s education. The pin is designed to signify the school the nurse attended and is pinned
onto the student’s uniform by nursing leaders who served as an academic leader in the
learner’s clinical journey.

The pinning ceremony itself also is steeped in tradition. The students wear the traditional
white uniform and cap of the nurse and in honor of the founder of modern nursing they recite
the “Florence Nightingale Pledge,” and participate in the symbolic lighting of each student’s
lamp. Nightingale is known as the ˜lady with the lamp” because she saved thousands of lives
while walking the halls of a battlefield hospital with a lamp to check on the soldiers. As a
tribute to her dedication, the lamp icon, pledge, and lighting of the lamp are typically part of
the pinning ceremony.

Mark Miller, RN, addressed those in attendance. Miller graduated from Motlow’s Nursing
program in 2020.

On May 9, students who have met all program requirements graduated during a formal
commencement ceremony with an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Nursing
and will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam to become registered nurses.

Awardees – Hometowns

– Deborah Anderson – Murfreesboro

– Sarah Arnold – Christiana
– Emily Bacon – Readyville
– Jenna Baily – Smyrna
– Katherine Bowles – Lynchburg
– Dominique Cannon – Fayetteville
– Stephanie Carpenter – Eagleville
– Juanita Cool – Baxter
– Emily Coulter – Murfreesboro
– Bethanie Davenport – Manchester
– Megann Dorris – Murfreesboro
– Elizabeth Duke – Manchester
– Kayla Dunlap – Murfreesboro
– Bayley Felice – Manchester
– Macy Ferrell – Tullahoma
– Ashley Flores – Manchester
– Samantha Galbreath – Shelbyville
– Sebastian Gewitsch – Murfreesboro
– Sarah Goddard – Murfreesboro
– Carla Green – Sewanee
– Marilyn Hanlon – Smyrna
– Leila Haston – McMinnville
– Makayla Herrold – Lebanon
– Rachel Hoilman – Murfreesboro
– Allie Hopkins – Murfreesboro
– Meghan (Rylee) Jones – Shelbyville
– Ashley Kanewischer – Murfreesboro
– Natasha Lenderman – Hillsboro
– Cindy Lowe – Manchester
– Kaitlyn McBrien – Lebanon
– Ashley McLaughlin – Lynchburg
– Misty Mears – McMinnville
– Julie Newton – Murfreesboro
– Rebecca Owczarczak – Sparta
– Britney Perez – Sparta
– Ashley Pierce – Tullahoma
– Beth Roberts – Woodbury
– Brianna Samuels – Antioch
– Jeremiah Schmidt – Crossville
-Ashley Search – Shelbyville

-Jillian Sebia – Murfreesboro
– Andrea Sharp – Fayetteville
– Jeannie Sloan – Erin
– Brittany Smith – Hillsboro
– Lindsay Smith – Spencer
– Alicia South – Murfreesboro
– Jessica Spencer – Manchester
– Alexandria Stewart – Lewisburg
– Lindsey Strange – Murfreesboro
– Rebekah Streich – Murfreesboro
– Cheyenne Sutton – Smyrna
– Brittany Wilkins – Murfreesboro
– Madelyn Wood – Walling
– Lori Wright – Tullahoma
– Brianna Young – McMinnville

Tennessee’s Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality,
affordable, convenient, and personal education to prepare students to achieve their
educational and career goals in two years or less. The system offers associate degree and
certificate programs, workforce development programs, and transfer pathways to four-year
degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tbr.edu or visit Motlow at
motlow.edu.