Twenty-one men and women received their associate degree in nursing (ADN) pins Dec. 12 in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on Southwestern Michigan College’s Dowagiac campus.

ADN graduates include Amanda Chan of Cassopolis, Lindsay DeLong of Niles, Jacob Downs of Berrien Springs, Amberlee Futa of Mishawaka, Byron Goff of Decatur, Zachary Gordon of Berrien Springs, Danielle Harris of Benton Harbor, Julianne Havens of Mishawaka, Sheryl Knight of Escanaba, Van Malcolm of Niles, Taylor Mattiford of Niles, David McIntosh of Berrien Springs, Haylee Moore of Bangor, Rachel Peterson of Dowagiac, Nicholas Reisterer of Decatur, Andrea Sackett of Decatur, Brooke Schoudt of Portage, Elizabeth Sharp of Edwardsburg, Samantha Wegrecki of Niles, Jillian Wilson of Berrien Springs and Michele Worden of Lakeside.

Vice President of Instruction Dr. David Fleming, said, “These students represent the epitome of education. They’ve worked incredibly hard, and we’re going to hear their stories and their love for each other and for their instructors. The neat thing about the nursing pinning ceremony is everybody has a different journey. Journeys are about clearing pathways to make things better for the people behind us.”

“This evening culminates hard work and determination. As they graduate from SMC, they have practiced their passion, nursing,” said Rebecca Jellison, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Services. “The art of nursing is our ability to connect with those around us. It is only when we begin direct patient care that we become aware of nursing as an art. Like other art forms, nursing can be dramatic, inspirational, comedic, joyful and sad — as you all have experienced throughout your clinical practices. All of these emotions create an environment of healing that allows patients to fully participate in their own recovery process.

“Nurses are patient advocates who provide comfort and hope to their patients and their families,” Jellison said. “The art of nursing is in play when we just know what to do and how to meet the patient’s emotional and physical needs. We know when to hold a hand, crack a joke or just sit in silence, listening. All that I have mentioned is accomplished simultaneously during each patient interaction.

“The science of nursing allows us to care for our patients’ bodies,” Jellison said, “but it is the art of nursing that calls all of us to the profession and allows each of us to touch souls. The most precious gift we offer to others is our presence.”

Hospitals are like cities with their own generators, rhythms and customs.

“You know it like your home,” she said. “You go to work day after day or night after night and see people in the moments when their lives change. You see women turn into mothers and babies into sons and daughters. You see men turn into fathers and couples turn into families. You see families broken by the loss of their loved ones or leaving their loved ones behind. You witness such events.”

Jellison said, “At times, your feet hurt or you’re hungry because you forget to eat. A thousand things need your attention, but they will have to wait because the call light is on and you have to get to that patient. Someone is hungry, cold, afraid or in pain and you will be that nurse who responds. It would be impossible to gather together in one place all the people whose lives you will touch and have already touched. Thank you for being the nurse you are today and who you will become. Thank you for being the one who cares for those overwhelmed and can’t care for themselves. Other jobs are far easier and demand far less. Thank you for choosing to be a nurse.”