MOSES LAKE — The 16 nurses graduating from Big Bend Community College were recognized in a pinning ceremony Saturday night.

The graduates received diplomas in commencement ceremonies Friday. The pinning ceremony is just for new nurses, an acknowledgment they have completed the requirements – and not just the academic requirements – to join the profession. The tradition goes back more than 150 years, to the beginning of nursing as a separate profession.

The new nurses “received their nursing pins and recited the official Nurse’s Pledge, both a symbolic welcoming into the nursing profession,” wrote Tiffany Sukola, BBCC communications coordinator.

Katherine Christian, BBCC’s director of health education program, said the ceremony is exciting but bittersweet for the nursing faculty. “While we have invested ourselves in preparing you for the nursing profession, you have also been sharing with us your lives, your hearts, your joys and struggles, your insights and your challenges, and each of you will leave behind with us a little bit of yourselves,” she said.

College president Terry Leas congratulated the graduates on finishing the course. “This is one of the most selective and challenging programs we offer at Big Bend Community College,” Leas said. “We are very proud of you for making the journey successfully.”

Sherry Donovan, former BBCC instructor, was the guest speaker, The class speaker was Amanda Langendorff.

Nursing candidates must pass the National Council Licensing Examination test before they can be licensed to practice. Most will be taking the test over the summer.