Pinning Ceremony Welcomes Nursing Graduates to the Profession
Before a packed and enthusiastic audience in the PCCC Theater in Paterson, 34 graduates of the Nurse Education Program were officially received into the nursing profession last May 15 through a traditional pinning ceremony.
Welcoming the guests in the audience, Ms. Leilani Feliciano, academic specialist of the Nurse Education Program, explained that in addition to celebrating the graduates, the ceremony also “recognizes the continuity of the nursing profession.” She then called several graduates, one-by-one, to come forward and present a white rose to their family member in the audience who is also in the nursing profession.
Dr. Frances Figueroa Mal, dean of Nurse Education, commended the graduates on their persistence through many months of studying to get to this day. “You must have wondered,” she said, “if you were up to holding someone’s life in your hands,” assuring them that they were well prepared for the tasks ahead.
Through an amusing anecdote, Dr. Steven Rose, president of PCCC, told of a recent visit to the doctor where he was greeted by a nurse practitioner who turned out to be a PCCC alumna. “I didn’t recognize her, but she threw her arms around me,” he said, relating how fondly she recalled her time at the College.
Class President Gabriella Empel delivered the Graduate’s Address at the May 2025 Nurse Pinning Ceremony.
Delivering the speaker’s address, Ms. Feliciano said she was inspired at a young age to become a nurse. As an eighth grader preparing for her religious confirmation, she fulfilled her requirement for service as a hospital volunteer, serving on various units.
“When I was finally allowed to serve on the maternity unit, I realized then that I wanted to be a maternity nurse,” she said. That was 26 years ago and today Ms. Feliciano holds her master’s degree in nursing.
“Nursing is not just a profession,” she told the grads and guests, “It is a calling, a commitment to compassion, confidence, and courage,” she said. “Today marks your transformation from student to nurse…the future of nursing is in good hands…your hands.”
The pinning ceremony is a long tradition in nursing, established in the nineteenth century. Each new nurse receives a gold pin symbolizing a welcome into the profession. The PCCC graduates were free to choose a faculty member or a relative or friend to pin them during the ceremony.
Nursing Award Recipients: (l to r) Joseph O’Donnell, Gabriella Empel, Stephanie Trifo, and Sheyla Verastegui-Garcia.
Four graduates received special recognitions: Joseph O’Donnell was given the Nurse Education Service Award for the quality and quantity of his contributions to the Nurse Education Program, college community, and peers.
The New Jersey League for Nursing Award went to Sheyla Verastegui-Garcia. This award is given to a New Jersey resident who demonstrates involvement in student activities and in community service.
Gabriela Empel received the Spirit of Nursing Award given for demonstrating professional involvement, leadership, and academic achievement.
A recipient of two awards, Stephanie Trifo won the Academic Achievement Award for attaining the highest GPA among the nursing graduates. She also received the Professional Nursing Award which is given to the student who demonstrates clinical excellence throughout the Nurse Education Program as a provider of care, manager of care, and member of the profession.
Professor Tochi Amaechina took the podium to introduce the Lamp Lighting ceremony, a tradition that acknowledges the famed British nurse Florence Nightingale, known for carrying a candlelit lamp across the battlefields of the Crimean War (1853-1856) to care for wounded soldiers.
In her honor, nursing graduates light replicas of Nurse Florence’s lamp. “The lamps represent hope, guidance, and the illumination of knowledge and care,” said Professor Amaechina.
Graduates Alexa Rivers and Sara Samara lit their own lamps, then shared the flame with other graduates who passed it along, in a meaningful ceremony of sharing. Led by graduate Wanda Davila, the new nurses read in unison the International Council of Nurses Pledge.
Following the lamp ceremony, Gabriella Empel, the class president, delivered the Graduate’s Address. Acknowledging that she and several other classmates were non-traditional students, some of whom had first followed other career paths, Gabriella noted that, “Returning to the classroom meant taking a leap.”
That leap, she said, “asked more of us than we ever imagined,” in terms of finances, time, and energy. “But it gave us something far greater: A second chance to become who we were always meant to be.”
Gabriella detailed – often with humor – the struggles and sacrifices that are part of being a nursing student and acknowledged how far the class has come. “Today is a celebration of dedication, perseverance, and the culmination of years of hard work.
Like Ms. Feliciano who spoke earlier, Gabriella repeated that nursing is not just a profession, but a calling that demands compassion and resilience. She added, “At its core, nursing is about presence…being there for someone in their most vulnerable moments.”
Gabriella graciously acknowledged the nursing faculty. “Thank you for your patience, your passion, and for believing in us, even on the days we did not believe in ourselves.” She also advised her fellow grads to take care of themselves, too. “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” And in closing, she reminded her fellow graduates to go forward with confidence. “You were made for this.”
The graduates received their Associate in Applied Science degree at PCCC’s 53rd Commencement ceremony on May 21, 2025.
Learn more about PCCC’s highly regarded Nurse Education Program
Written by Linda Telesco
Photos by Luis Ruiz
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