Class of 2025 Nurses Honored at Annual Pinning Ceremony 

On May 16, nurses from Assumption’s Froelich School of Nursing’s Class of 2025 were presented pins signifying the completion of their Assumption nursing education and the beginning of their official journeys as nurses.  

After an invocation given by Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A., President Greg Weiner began the ceremony with remarks to the class, connecting the symbolic power of hands both in nursing and in the Abrahamic faith tradition. 

“You are entering a profession in which you must lay your hands on patients, to heal, to comfort, to be the vessels of divine influence in this world,” Weiner said. “The profound act of laying hands on another person reminds us of the gift of the human condition, the joyful gift of our dependence on one another. Your patients will depend on you in ways they have never had to depend on another person before.”  

Weiner also referenced the significant power of healing that nurses convey upon their patients.  

“Nurses understand that healing is an art and a science that is rooted in our humanity. Healing is a power that is not theirs to give, but rather one conveyed through their hands,” he said. “It is conveyed with extraordinary skill and informed judgment, but also through profound recognition of their own humanity and that of their patients.” 

“You will accompany patients through some of the most challenging parts of the human experience. But through your care, your compassion, your knowledge, and your professionalism, you will answer that darkness with the best of what it means to be fully human,” Weiner said.  

Provost Marc Guerra then addressed the class, invoking the courage nurses embody in carrying out their noble work.  

“Your work as a nurse will take courage,” Guerra said. “Courage that you must continually summon in yourself. Courage to work long hours that will likely go unnoticed. The courage to look past bodily disease and illness and see the ensouled and embodied suffering person – someone with a name, a family, hopes, and fears. And the courage to continue in this noble and charitable work.”  

“I truly believe that in some respects, our nursing graduates reflect the formative power of an Assumption education at its very best,” he continued. “Combining theory and practice in a vocation that links both the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy, you’ll minister to people at the most difficult and at the most joyous times of their lives. Know that we as an educational community are exceptionally proud of you.”  

Interim Dean of the Froelich School of Nursing Gayle Roux shared the history of nursing pinning and the connection between the pin and Assumption University that the Class of 2025 nurses will always carry with them.  

“As you wear your pin, remember you are connected to Assumption University,” Roux said. “You are connected to the beliefs and values that you learned here. You are connected to all things, and to the humanity of our enterprise and healthcare that we serve.”  

Six student nurses were then recognized for their induction into Sigma Theta Tau, the International Nursing Honors Society: 

• Caitlin Callahan 
• Kerry Hirsch 
• Evelyn Humphries 
• Lauren Kelly 
• Morgan Marauszwski 
• Hannah Stevenson 

The Dr. Jerome and Marie Froelich Family Award of Clinical Excellence, presented to a senior nursing student who emulates the professionalism, respect, and compassion demonstrated by Dr. Jerome and Marie Froelich in their care of patients across the ethnic, racial, age, and medical specialty continuum, was awarded to Juliana Troland. 

The DAISY Award for an Extraordinary Nursing Student, honoring a nurse who goes above and beyond and makes an extraordinary difference in patients’ and families’ experiences in healthcare, was awarded to Kerry Hirsch.  

The Clarke and Cheryl Alderman Family Award of Academic Excellence, presented to the senior nursing student with the highest overall grade point average, was awarded to Evelyn Humphries. 

The Dean’s Award, presented to the senior nursing student who has demonstrated persistence and consistent effort in their courses to achieve a BSN degree, was awarded to Molly Jordan. 

From top left: Troland, Hirsch, Humphries, and Jordan received awards.

Following the presentation of awards, Professor Heather Briere gave an address to the class. “The fact that you are sitting here at all means that you have accomplished something extraordinary,” she said. “This pin, this moment, hasn’t been handed to you – you worked for it, and you worked hard. I want to recognize each of you not just for surviving, but for becoming the nurses that the world did not know it needed.”  

Briere then gave a “potato award” to each student in the class, recognizing each student for their remarkable journeys through Assumption’s nursing program.  

“The humble, the underestimated, the weirdly versatile potato is actually a perfect symbol for nursing,” she said. “Potatoes survive harsh conditions. They’re adaptable, they’re nourishing, they show up in a hundred different ways and somehow always make everything better.” 

“I’m giving a potato award to each and every one of you because each of you has shown up in your own weird, wonderful, and determined way, and each of you deserves a slightly ridiculous vegetable to commemorate your brilliance.”  

Each nurse was then presented with their pins by Professors Lindsay Guertin and Joanna Bachour. Following the reception of pins, the nurses recited the International Council of Nurses Pledge, led by Professor Julia Patrick.  

“On behalf of the faculty and staff of the Froelich School of Nursing, welcome to the Profession of Nursing,” said Patrick. “I became a nurse educator because I truly wanted to help shape the kind of nurses that would care for me as a patient. And I can say with the utmost confidence that I would be happy to have any single one of you as my nurse.”  

To view all photos from the pinning ceremony, click here. The full livestream recording can be viewed below.