TWC ARCHES Fall 2012

T
Making a Difference
62 nursing students receive pins
at graduation ceremony
ennessee Wesleyan College’s Fort Sanders Nursing Department
pinned 62 graduates during May’s senior convocation and
pinning ceremony. Faculty, students, friends and family gathered
at Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., to
celebrate the academic achievements of the 62 graduates. Class
President Afeni Henderson delivered the student address while the
keynote address was given by Diane Oliver, vice president and chief
nursing officer of Parkwest Medical Center.
Henderson congratulated her fellow classmates on making it to “a day
that [she] thought would never get here.”
“All of the hard work and dedication has finally paid off,” said
Henderson, who equated nursing school with going through the
five stages of grief. “We survived countless hours of studying, various
assignments, gut-wrenching exams and clinical rotations that spanned
across Anderson, Blount, Davidson and Knox counties. For this, we
can be proud.”
From anger over a tremendous work load, to bargaining with God to
get a passing grade on a test, Henderson believes her and her fellow
classmates went through denial, anger, bargaining and depression
before reaching the final stage of grief: acceptance.
“Now that we are here at the end, we must know that nursing is not
just a profession,” said Henderson. “It is a lifelong commitment to
making a difference in people’s lives. Regardless of the paths we
choose to take from this point on, whether it is quickly entering
the work place, beginning graduate school in the fall or taking some
8 ARCHES | Fall 2012
much needed time off for vacation, we are in the position where our
decisions as nurses can greatly impact the lives of others.”
In her keynote address, Oliver underscored Henderson’s emphasis on
the impact her and her classmates will have on their patients and
their patients’ families.
“It is my hope that you will
practice always within the
scope and standards that
have been defined by our
profession,” said Oliver.
“Today you are pledging to
always keep the patient and
their family at the center
of your practice. You are
committing today to be an
avid and lifelong ambassador
for our profession and to
always promote both the art
and the science of nursing.”