RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The Holzer School of Nursing at the University of Rio Grande honored its new graduates and presented awards to several outstanding students at the Friday, May 2, Pinning Ceremony.

Held in the Berry Fine and Performing Arts Center on the Rio Grande campus, the pinning ceremony is an annual event where family and friends gather to honor the graduating students. This year, the Holzer School of Nursing honored 59 students graduating with associate's degrees and another 17 students who received their bachelor's degrees.

"They were an outstanding group of students," said Donna Mitchell, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Holzer School of Nursing, in a news release.

She and the other faculty members enjoyed having this group of students in their classes, and they are proud to see them graduate. The students worked very hard in their time at Rio Grande and will do very well in their careers, Mitchell said.

"It really was hard to see them go," Mitchell said. "They're going to make very good nurses." Nurses are in demand in the region and around the country due to the national nursing shortage, and Mitchell said the Holzer School of Nursing is proud to be adding so many excellent nurses to the workforce. The school is fully approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).

"Hospitals come in and try to recruit our nurses all the time," Mitchell added.

Several of the 2008 graduates were recognized with special honors during the pinning ceremony, including BSN student Jennifer Phillips, who lives in Cincinnati and received the Emerson and Evelyn Evans and Sons Family Award: Outstanding Academic Achievement.

Cynthia Berry, who is a BSN student from Jackson, received the Emerson E. Evans Excellence In Nursing Award: Leadership and Management.

Stephanie Bradford, a BSN student from Racine, received the Manning E. Wetherholt Excellence in Nursing Award: Nursing in the Community.

Brett Jones, an associate's degree student from Thurman, received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for a Two-Year Nursing Graduate.

Renita Jill Brown, an associate's degree student from Grayson, Ky., received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for a Licensed Practical Nurse Advanced Placement Track Graduate.

Audrey Tomblin, an associate's degree student from Jackson, received the Mary Inez Howes Spirit of Nursing Award.

Bethany Dixon, an associate's degree student from Wellston, received the Outstanding Nursing Graduate Award.

Ethan Pariseau, an associate's degree student from Wellston, and Melissa Gow, an associate's degree student from Racine, both received the Nightingale Award.

The nursing students also had the opportunity to select students to speak during the ceremony, and the students who were chosen to give remarks were Katherine Love, a BSN student from Circleville; Ron Denney, an associate's degree student from Wellston; and Diana Allen, an associate's degree student from Catlettsburg, Ky., who is part of the licensed practical nurse advanced placement program.

For more information on the pinning ceremony or on the Holzer School of Nursing, call 800-282-7201.

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