UPIKE nursing students honored during pinning ceremony

The University of Pikeville Elliott School of Nursing (ESON) honored 32 new nurses during the 35th annual nursing pinning ceremony on May 2, 2019 in Booth Auditorium on UPIKE’s campus.

“Pinning is a tradition and an important symbol of the hard work and dedication that students have shown over the past two years,” said Karen Damron, Ph.D., RN, dean of ESON. “It is a time for them and their classmates, their families, and faculty to come together to celebrate their accomplishments and can even be thought of as their unofficial ‘welcome’ to the nursing world.”

Students were pinned by nursing faculty and recited the Florence Nightingale Pledge. The traditional ceremony dates to the 1860s and was adopted by Nightingale to honor her most outstanding graduate nurses.

Christopher Little of Pikeville, Ky., was the recipient of the Elizabeth Akers Elliott Award, selected by the nursing faculty as a student who “best exemplifies the caring compassion and empathy that are the very spirit of nursing.” The award also holds special significance for the family of Elizabeth Akers Elliott, as they established a trust fund to launch the nursing program in her memory. The Elliott family has been faithful in supporting the program since its inception.

The Spirit of Nursing Award, an honor bestowed by fellow classmates to the nursing student they would most like to have care for themselves or their family, was presented to Amy Raychelle Roberts of Ashcamp, Ky. Hali Sturgill Adams of Pikeville, Ky., received the Vivian Day Award, presented to the graduate with the highest grade-point average in nursing courses.

The class speakers, Austin Blackburn and Miranda Maynard, offered words of reflection and recognized nursing faculty and students.

2019 nursing graduates pose for group photo during their pinning ceremony
2019 Nursing Pinning Students

-UPIKE-