Grandmother Pins Her Granddaughter at Nursing Celebration

Lynore Constantine graduated from Community Hospital's Nursing School 55 years ago. On December 14 she came to the Onondaga Community College campus and had the honor of "pinning" her granddaughter, Gabriella Argiro, as she completed her Nursing degree to become a Registered Nurse (RN). "I'm very excited for her. Nursing was good for me and I know it will be as good for her as it was for me," said Constantine. "Having her pin me was really exciting," said Argiro. "She's been a huge inspiration for me."

OCC paid tribute to its graduating Nursing students with a special event in the Otis Suite. The Nurse Pinning ceremony is a symbolic welcome into the Nursing profession. The pin represents the hard work and dedication students displayed while completing their coursework and clinicals. In most instances, the graduating student is pinned by one of his or her professors.

The Nursing class of 2022 also included two sisters. Meghan Puddington was working as an Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at SUNY Upstate Medical University when she chose to come to OCC and pursue her RN. Her sister, Heather, was a caregiver at Francis House and decided to join her. "Having Meghan be an LPN already and  hear from her what it was like to become a nurse, I decided to become an RN because I knew it would lead to better career opportunities. We both want to be in health care and help people," said Heather Puddington.

During the Pinning Ceremony there were also individual awards given to students:

• Virginia Henderson Award - Elizabeth Amond and Sarah Kelchner
• Leadership Award - Sarah Kelchner
• Spirit of Nursing Award - Caroline Gustke and Dawn Richey
• Nursing Academic Award - Jordyn Stone

Congratulations to the Nursing Class of December 2022!