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����ֱ�� State College of Nursing held its spring undergraduate convocation ceremony at the ����ֱ�� Student Center Ballroom. More than 750 guests, including 121 graduates, family members, friends, faculty and staff attended.

Kenneth Burhanna, MLIS, assistant dean for engagement and outreach for University Libraries, and 2015-2016 Provost’s Fellow, provided the university’s welcome message. 

Jeffrey Arnovitz, MSN, RN, CNP, certified nurse practitioner at Cleveland Clinic, and two-time ����ֱ�� State College of Nursing alumnus, returned to ����ֱ�� State for the first time in 21 years as the evening’s guest speaker. He shared how nursing has provided him with countless opportunities throughout his career, and gave the new graduates advice as they transition to the next chapter in life.  

“Nursing has pushed the boundaries of my life further than I ever would have expected,” Arnovitz said. “I have been able to speak about nursing on four continents, and I am one of the first nurse practitioners in the country to provide interstate on-demand virtual clinic visits through telehealth. Immerse yourself in nursing. No matter what path your career leads you down, don’t forget why you chose this profession. Now go out there and make a difference!”

Following Arnovitz’s remarks, graduates received their nursing pins and recited the nursing pledge.

Nursing pins are part of a 1,000-year-old symbol of service dating back to the Maltese cross. They are a symbolic welcome to the nursing profession, marking the successful passage of nursing students to the practice role. Pins are worn by RNs on their hospital uniforms and identify the nursing school from which the nurse graduated.

Over the past year, the College of Nursing has graduated 504 students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs at the ����ֱ�� and Regional campuses.

“We are proud to be one of the largest and most comprehensive nursing programs in the nation,” says Curtis Good, Ph.D., assistant dean of operations and student services in ����ֱ�� State’s College of Nursing. “Well over 40 percent of all practicing nursing professionals in Northeast Ohio are proud ����ֱ�� State graduates.”

For more information about nursing programs at ����ֱ�� State, visit www.kent.edu/nursing.