Eighteen graduates of Beaufort County Community College’s practical nursing program received their nursing school pins July 12 in a traditional rite of passage for nursing school graduates across the country.

Their family and friends packed into Building 10 on BCCC’s campus to show their support.

Sheika Benthall, Heather Booth, Nicolshia Crawford, Natalie Cutrell, Ashlee Eakes, Stephanie Garay, Shawnice Nicole Hardy, Nikita Haughton, Janie Hoell, Amber Lewis, Deanna Menard, Whitney Phelps, Amber Richardson, Brittany Roulhac, Shareika Ruffin, Haley Rushton, Neftali Torres and Antwonetta White graduated from the program.

LPN class president Deanna Menard recounted the perseverance it took from her classmates to get to where they are. Both college President Dr. Dave Loope and program lead instructor Aino Jackson spoke about the responsibility and reward that comes with a dedication to service to others.

As the graduates watched a slideshow of memories, they looked at one another and laughed or sometimes wiped tears from their eyes. During long classes and long shifts on their clinical rotations, these students have developed a lasting bond with one another and their faculty. The class of 2017 presented the three LPN instructors with flowers. Instructors Denise King and Lee Anne Oliver pinned the graduates, after which each one lit a candle. As they held their candles, they recited the Nurse’s Pledge.

Pinning ceremonies in their currently recognizable form began in 1893. The pin is awarded to the nurse to recognize the achievement of entering the profession and to signify a nursing school graduate’s affiliation with a specific nursing school.

Course work for the LPN program includes the domains of health care, nursing practice and the holistic individual. It emphasizes safe, individualized nursing care and participation in the interdisciplinary team while employing evidence-based practice, quality improvement and informatics.

Graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination, which is required for practice as a licensed practical nurse. Employment opportunities include physicians’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and rehabilitation, long-term care or home health facilities.

These graduates may lead a life in service to others, but with the close bonds they have formed during their studies, they will also be in service to one another as they take their licensure exams and get their footing in their new careers.

The application period for the next LPN program begins Sept. 1. For more information about the LPN program, contact Aino Jackson at 252-940-6395 or aino.jackson@beaufortccc.edu, or Ashley Rose at 252-940-6221 or ashley.rose@beaufortccc.edu.