Tears of Joy for First Graduates of SJVC Bakersfield’s New Vocational Nursing Program
June 16, 2022
Friday, May 13th was a very “lucky” day for the very first graduating class of the new Vocational Nursing program at SJVC Bakersfield.
Each graduate’s journey to becoming a licensed vocational nurse began in January 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of students faced hardships in other unforeseen ways from struggling to maintain their studies while losing close family members to other health issues. Before the pinning ceremony began there was a moment of silence for those who had been lost.
There were tears through the laughter, smiles, and hugs. Perhaps it was the hard work that each Vocational Nursing student did to get there that brought the tears, or perhaps it was the realization that friends who helped each other through it will soon be going their separate ways.
Or, maybe they were surprised at how connected they felt to the traditions in the ceremony that began with Florence Nightingale in 1880 which are still practiced today in every nursing graduation ceremony – the candle lighting, the pledge said together, and the moment they are pinned. They are now connected to a history of thousands, a sisterhood and brotherhood in the many nursing programs everywhere that bonds them for life to the noble work of caring for others.
