Ohio University Southern celebrates AAS-N class of 2026 with pinning ceremony

Friends and family members filled the seats of Bowman Auditorium on Friday, Aug. 14, as Ohio University Southern celebrated 29 graduates of the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS-N) Class of 2026 at a pinning ceremony.

Dean Deborah Marinski opened the ceremony by turning first to the families and friends in the room. She thanked them for the meals, the rides and the steady belief that carried students through the hardest stretches of the program.

"You lived through this nursing program almost as fully as your graduate did, just from the passenger seat," Marinski said.

She also thanked the nursing faculty for training that pushes students beyond any textbook, including a disaster simulation that turned campus classrooms into the staged wreckage of a tornado so students could practice triage in real chaos.

Marinski reminded graduates that their degree is a beginning, not an end.

"Today is not the finish line. It is a threshold," she said.

She closed with a charge about the heart of the profession.

"Compassion is not the soft part of nursing. It is the center of it," Marinski said. "Nursing is one of the most selfless professions there is. You show up for people on the worst days of their lives."

She also urged the new nurses to care for themselves as fiercely as they care for their patients.

"Protect your own well-being as seriously as you protect your patients," she said.

Associate Director of Nursing Dr. Michelle Theiss welcomed the graduates and their families and thanked the Student Nurses Association volunteers along with nursing coordinators Anna Payne and Chelsea Harris, who organized the ceremony.

"It's been a pleasure to watch you all grow and support each other through this journey," Theiss said.

Theiss spoke about the strength and resilience the class built over the program and the compassion they already carry into clinical settings. She described the nursing pin as a symbol of the pledge each graduate makes to uphold high standards of care and to treat every patient with dignity and respect.

Theiss also recognized Clinical Instructor Cheyenne Maynard, who was nominated for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educators in both the fall and spring semesters, with several nominations coming from the graduating class.

OHIO students receive awards

The Outstanding Student Nurse Award, given to the graduate with the highest academic record, went to Ellen Plank. Plank came to nursing after earning an MBA and building a career as a respiratory therapist, and she told the audience the program still tested her like nothing before it.

"On my very first day of nursing school, I came home, looked at my husband and said, what have I done?" Plank said.

She thanked the faculty for holding the class to a high standard. "You saw our potential, even when we didn't see it in ourselves," she said. She also spoke about the privilege of serving her home region, a place she described as welcoming and deeply connected.

"It is a privilege to serve a population that treats you like family," Plank said.

The Spirit of Nursing Award, which recognizes a graduate nominated by classmates for teamwork, caring and compassion, was presented to Wesley Malavenda. His peers described him as encouraging and selfless, someone who never complains and is always the first to offer help.

Malavenda thanked his wife for carrying so much at home during his studies and encouraged his classmates to lean on the people around them.

Ceremony celebrates every student, honors family members and faculty

Faculty members then took the stage to pin each graduate. Every student received a pin and a bouquet of flowers along with a hug from the faculty who guided them through the program.

The class then watched a video tribute featuring photos of each graduate, from childhood snapshots to moments from their years in the nursing program. In addition,  the Student Nurses Association officers led the graduates and the nurses in the audience in the Nightingale Pledge.

When the class was formally presented to the audience, Bowman Auditorium erupted into cheers, applause and whistles. Family members lifted their phones to capture the moment, and more than a few graduates fanned themselves with their programs, holding back happy tears.

The graduates gathered on stage for group photos that ended in one large group hug before they stepped down to be congratulated by the family and friends who filled the room.

The nursing pin carries a long history. It traces back to the Maltese cross worn by the Hospitallers, a group of Crusaders who cared for the sick. Florence Nightingale later adopted the cross for the badge worn by graduates of her own school of nursing.

AAS-N Class of 2026

Ohio

Chesapeake: Makayla Clark
Coal Grove: Mia Fields
Ironton: Rikki Daniels, McKayla Haywood, Mackenzie Horner, Kerri Jenkins, Madison Webb, Michael Webb
Kitts Hill: Grace Hunt
Proctorville: Emma Clay, Emily Newman, Brookelyn Spurlock
Scottown: Wesley Malavenda
South Point: Anna Brady, Brookelyn Coy
Wheelersburg: Sedona Balzer, Sydney Salyers
Willow Wood: Leigha Taylor

Kentucky

Ashland: Corey Hale, Ellen Plank, Leah Russell, Laynee Stanley
Catlettsburg: Emily Holmes, McKinna Wright
Louisa: Shelby Blevins
Worthington: Brittany Abrams, Madison Barker

West Virginia

Barboursville: Laurance Miller-Hicks
Huntington: Amillia Howard