Ninety-four members of Naugatuck Valley Community College’s Nursing Class of 2015 received their pins during the College’s 41^st Annual Pinning Ceremony held on May 20 at NVCC’s Mainstage Theater.

“This is a noble profession and we are so very proud of you and the work that you did here,” said NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D. “It is the number one nursing program in the state of Connecticut. You couldn’t do better than you did here, with the wonderful faculty.”

“You are now a nurse,” said Dr. Eileen George, academic division director for NVCC’s Allied Health, Nursing and Physical Education programs. She urged the new graduates to embrace change. “Health care is changing by the minute and this constant change requires us to rapidly learn new skills.”

George expressed the hope that the new nurses will continue their education—to better themselves and the profession. “[NVCC] does meet that need by participating in a dozen articulation agreements with university departments so that you may seamlessly progress to a BSN or an MSN.”

The soon-to-be nursing graduates then crossed the stage as members of the faculty presented their pins and posed for pictures.

“While you’re here to celebrate our accomplishments, it’s only fair that we thank the incredible and brilliant women that have made us the nurses we are today,” said Hayley Jackson, vice president of NVCC’s Nursing Club of 2015.