SJRCC PRESS RELEASE December 2007 Florence Nightingale descendant gives SJRCC nursing address St. Johns River Community College recently held a pinning ceremony to recognize the Associate in Science in Nursing students. The pinning ceremony symbolized the "rite of passage into the nursing profession," said Virginia McColm, SJRCC's dean of nursing. The pin serves as a reminder to the 33 graduates of their purpose to serve the sick and infirmed. McColm described the pinning and lighting ceremony as a symbol of the care and devotion nurses provide. The ceremony is also a continued tradition of the founder of modern-day nursing, Florence Nightingale. The guest speaker was Joan Nightingale-Foxx, the great-niece of Florence Nightingale. Foxx told the audience that she, too, was a nurse and that looking across the stage at the graduates took her back 60 years. "It almost brings me to tears" she said. Foxx spoke of Nightingale's role in nursing from her humble beginning involving caring for animals to the cholera outbreak in Russia during the 1850s. Foxx said it wasn't until she was 25 and began her own nursing career that she realized how important her great-aunt's legacy was. "It's a lifetime profession," Foxx said. "And you will soon learn how important this profession is. With every patient you come in contact with, you learn a little more. It's all the personal touches that matterÉ the things the patient will remember." Students were pinned by family members and then proceeded to light their lamps. This tradition serves as an icon in nursing from Florence Nightingale. Nightingale was known as the "lady with the lamp," tending to the sick while carrying a lamp to light the way. Students participating in the ceremony were from the program based at the Palatka Campus and in coordination with Flagler Hospital. The ceremony was held at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts on SJRCC's Orange Park Campus. The following students are from Clay County: Victoria Barajas, Ericka Gibson, Tabatha Gillmore and Christa Rothe. From Duval County: Avis Combs, Marie Dobrosky, Dieula Exantus, Vicki Matthews, Vanessa Mitchell, Jennifer Philo, Blossom Throop and Jean Velarde. From St. Johns County: Jennifer Amodeo, Jennifer Banta, Barry Britt, Kalli Brown, Floralu Chang, Ramonica Flagler, Anna Martin, Joan Nizza, Jan Requarth, Shari Saffelder, Amanda Sullivan, Stephanie Tanalgo, Aggie Trimble, Wendy Winneroski and Meghan Young. From Alachua County: Janet Knowles. From Bradford County: Jayme Whipple. From Flagler County: Jacqueline Bertha, Ronald Gross, Roger Huth and Melissa Kes. In addition to the ceremony, students were recognized for special achievements throughout their two-year program. Special recognition went to Ronald Gross for the Student Nurses Association Award and the Community Leadership Award, Chelsea Preston as the Ihsan Fahri Scholarship Award winner, Anna Martin for Outstanding Student of the Year and the Academic Excellence Award, Dieula Exantus and Melissa Kes for the C.A.R.E. Award, Wendy Winneroski for the Florence Nightingale Award, Victoria Barajas for the Dean's Award, and Kathy Hagy for Outstanding Instructor of the Year. During the benediction, a special acknowledgement was given to Beverly Bird, a nursing student who passed away during her first year of the program. SJRCC's nursing program is offered in Palatka and Orange Park. SJRCC offers additional health programs such as respiratory care, nursing assistant, medical encoder, health information management and radiologic technology. For more information on degree programs in the health care field, call (386) 312-4176. PHOTO CAPTION: Special guest and speaker Joan Nightingale-Foxx, a descendant of Florence Nightingale, joins the SJRCC nursing students for their group photo at the pinning ceremony held at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts. First row, from left: Jennifer Amodeo, Jennifer Banta, Victoria Barajas, Joan Nightingale-Foxx, Jacqueline Bertha, Kalli Brown, Floralu Chang Second row: Avis Combs, Marie Dobrosky, Dieula Exantus, Ramonica Flagler, Ericka Gibson, Tabatha Gillmore Third row: Jean Velarde, Joan Nizza, Roger Huth, Melissa Kes, Janet Knowles, Anna Martin, Stephanie Tanalgo Fourth row: Vicki Matthews, Vanessa Mitchell, Ronald Gross, Amanda Sullivan, Christa Rothe, Shari Saffelder Fifth row: Barry Britt, Blossom Throop, Wendy Winneroski, Meghan Young, Aggie Trimble Not pictured: Jennifer Philo, Jan Requarth, Jayme Whipple Return to SJRCC home page.