Pinning & Recognition Ceremony for December 2024
In the spirit of commemorating the success of our 2024 graduates, Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) hosted a Pinning and Recognition Ceremony on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. at Sunnyvale First Baptist Church in Sunnyvale, Texas. Graduating students were from the Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Distance Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and Doctor of Nursing Practice Program.
“Congratulations Baylor nurses! We are honored to celebrate this significant moment in the lives of our graduates. As these amazing students now embark on their professional journey the administration, faculty, staff, and alumni of the LHSON are incredibly proud,” said Linda Plank, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Dean and Clinical Associate Professor, LHSON.
Highlighting the day, award recognitions included: Learn.Lead.Serve Dean's Awards to Lucie Van Roekel, Traditional track and Jessica Kwon, DABSN track. The second recognition were the DAISY Awards which stands for “Diseases Attacking the Immune System.” This year’s recipients of the Student DAISY Awards were Gabriel Vidales, Traditional track; Will Callison, DABSN and Carolyn Martin, APRN and Keith Harmon, Executive Nurse Leadership, DNP program. The DAISY Faculty Awards were presented to Dr. Tiphany Reed, Undergraduate and Dr. Kari Guffey, Graduate. The Outstanding DNP-APRN Project was presented to Rebecca Cypert for her project titled, “Implementing a Spontaneous Labor Protocol to Reduce Early Labor Admission: A Quality Improvement Project.” In addition, the Fall 2024 Outstanding DNP-ENL Project was presented to Kendra Folh, for the project titled, “The OB Command Center: Development of a Viral.AI Platform to Improve Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in an Academic Healthcare System.”
Further recognition includes the Highest Ranking Nursing School GPA for the Traditional track. The outstanding student at the LHSON who deserves congratulations for their impeccable academic success is Gabriella Tadlock with a 3.96 GPA.
During this festive celebration week, nursing students received their nursing school pin and cords prior to Baylor University Commencement in Waco. Each pin is distinctive; and for the nurse, it also symbolizes honorable completion of a rigorous and physically demanding nursing program. The cords signify membership into Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society and for the Baylor Student Nurses Association.
The Traditional track class address was given by Gabriel Vidales followed by the presentation of Undergraduate pins announced by Dr. Beth Hultquist, Clinical Associate Professor. The DABSN class address was given by Wil Callison, followed by the presentation of Undergraduate pins announced by Dr. Beth Hultquist, Clinical Associate Professor. The APRN class address was given by Deborah Ruffin, followed by Graduate pins and hoods presented by Dr. Deborah Shirey, Associate Dean for the Online Graduate Program and Clinical Associate Professor.
The ceremony continued and offered a Blessing of the Hands given by Dr. Jessica L. Peck, Clinical Professor. The special message represented the blessing of our nurses to be the hands of Jesus to bring comfort and healing to those they care for, and a dedication to a ministry of caring. The memorable day concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Lisa Jones, Associated Dean for Pre-Licensure Program and Clinical Associate Professor and a group of graduating seniors who led the audience in singing, “That Good Old Baylor Line.”