Nine nursing students with ties to Hastings College participated in a Nursing Pinning ceremony at the College’s French Memorial Chapel on Thursday, December 12 as part of the Creighton University College of Nursing graduation ceremony. The ceremony is a symbolic welcoming of newly graduated nurses, who are presented with a special pin from faculty and welcomed into the profession.
Six of the students were participants in the 3+1 nursing program — a partnership between Hastings College, the Creighton University College of Nursing and Mary Lanning Healthcare. In addition to receiving their nursing degree, these students received their diploma from Hastings College during the ceremony.
The 3+1 nursing program allows students to graduate in as few as four years with two degrees: a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College in Health Systems, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Creighton. Students spend three years on the Hastings College campus followed by one year in Creighton’s Accelerated BSN program on the Mary Lanning Healthcare campus.
Three students who previously graduated from Hastings College also received their Accelerated BSN degree during the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Diana Chavez-Gutierrez of Hastings, Nebraska; Janine Lahey of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Amber Lewandowski of Grand Island, Nebraska; Alexandra Schmidt of Hastings, Nebraska; and Kaylyn Schoen of Lakewood, Colorado, were presented with the Constance Smith Peterson Memorial Award for their work in meeting the needs of clients at Crossroads Mission Avenue and collaborating to put on a successful 5K run/walk event.
Chavez-Guttierez was also presented with a Service and Spirit Award. For this award, faculty members nominate students who best exemplify Creighton spirit through extracurricular activities and service.
Graduates from the dual degree program are listed below, as are the Hastings College graduates who also graduated from Creighton’s Accelerated BSN program.
Dual degree (3+1) graduates
- Brooklyn Hergott of Hebron, Nebraska
- Janine Lahey of Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Amber Lewandowski of Grand Island, Nebraska
- Alexandra Schmidt* of Hastings, Nebraska
- Kaylyn Schoen of Lakewood, Colorado
- Amanda Wulf of Red Cloud, Nebraska
Accelerated BSN graduates
- Diana Chavez-Gutierrez* of Hastings, Nebraska, and a 2018 Hastings College graduate
- Ronne Cook of Kenesaw, Nebraska, and a 2018 Hastings College graduate
- Madelyn (Smith) Hakanson of Clay Center, Nebraska, and a 2018 Hastings College graduate
*Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Honor Society, Iota Tau Chapter
Nebraska’s premier private college, Hastings College is a four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
