Graduating students from the Ocean County College School of Nursing received their pins at the annual Nurses Pinning Ceremony on Tuesday, May 21 on the College’s Gateway Building Lawn in Toms River, NJ. The graduates completed the two-year course of study leading to an Associate in Applied Science degree in Nursing during fall 2023 and spring 2024.

“The pinning ceremony is a nursing school tradition. It represents your transition from the role of student to nurse,” said Tracy Walsh, Dean of OCC’s School of Nursing, addressing the graduating class.

The tradition of nurse pinning dates back to the 1860s, when Florence Nightingale was given a medal for her services as a military nurse. Later, after Nightingale became a nurse educator, she would present each of her nurses with medals after they completed nursing school as a symbol of their hard work and dedication. Over the years, the medal was replaced with a pin representing the graduates’ nursing school.

“Ocean County College School of Nursing carries on this tradition and presents graduates with a pin representing completion of the nursing program,” Dean Walsh told the graduates. “Wear your pin so those you care for know you have graduated from this well-respected nursing program.”

During the ceremony, graduates recited the OCC School of Nursing dedication pledge while holding a candle representing the lamp carried by Florence Nightingale as she made nightly rounds, caring for injured soldiers in the dark.

“The candle’s flame represents knowledge, wisdom and power,” explained Walsh. The lighting of the candle symbolizes the transition of that knowledge from the nursing faculty to the graduates as they embark on their new profession.

OCC President Pamela Monaco, Ph.D., expressed pride in the graduates’ accomplishments in an address to the assembled students. “On behalf of the OCC community, I offer my warm and sincere congratulations and our best wishes for a successful and rewarding career,” she said. “May each of you find great happiness and fulfillment in your new profession, and may each of us be so lucky that when we need a nurse, we will have one of you beside us.”

The ceremony was broadcast live on Ocean TV-20 and on the college’s website, www.ocean.edu. Repeat broadcasts will be televised on Ocean TV-20 on May 22 at 7:30 p.m.; May 23 at 10 p.m.; May 24 at 8:30 p.m.; May 25 at 8:30 p.m.; May 26 at 7 p.m.; and May 27 at 7:30 p.m. The video is also available for online viewing at go.ocean.edu/graduation.

The Ocean County College Nursing Graduates are: