Chelsea Valdes could not stop smiling. The Cumming resident just had received her nurse pin during Georgia Perimeter College’s pinning ceremony May 6, and she was ecstatic. It had been two years since she decided to become a nurse, and the pinning represented the end of a hard journey.

After the ceremony, she took a breath.

“I commuted to the Clarkston Campus class from Cumming. I drove miles to my clinicals [hospitals and clinics where nursing students receive hands-on instruction],” Valdes said. “This program was very challenging—both emotionally and physically, but I am so glad I did this.”

Valdes was part of Georgia Perimeter’s class of 73 nursing students who received their pins during a special ceremony just days before GPC’s commencement ceremony.

Valdes says she wasn’t complaining about the drive to complete her degree. Driving miles to clinicals to receive on-the-job training is an integral part of each student’s nursing education, and it’s one that all the nursing students are familiar.

The program began with a moment of silence to honor the five Georgia Southern University nursing students who were killed April 23 in an accident on their way to early morning nursing clinicals in Savannah. 

“It’s your turn to extend the legacy of GPC nursing. You have sacrificed a lot to get here—as well as your parents, other family members, children and friends,” said GPC nursing instructor Alton McLendon, who spoke to the crowd gathering in the Cole Auditorium for the event.

For Paula Ball, the evening was a culmination of two years of much studying and sacrifice, but also a lot of bonding among the grads. Ball was selected by her peers to be the spokesperson for the 2015 class.

“The pinning—those are the most two most coveted words for us—and getting here was the burning desire that linked us all together, through long days and outrageously early mornings,” said Ball. Ball also elicited laughter from her fellow nurse graduates as she recounted the “dreaded TEAS” entrance exam, nurse boot camp and long study hours, among other challenges the group met together. “What a ride—what a journey we’ve been on,” she said.

After being freshly “pinned,” the group lit small lamps and recited the nurse’s pledge, a tradition in nursing that honors the spirit and vision of Florence Nightingale, who is considered the mother of the nursing profession

“In 30 to 60 days after you pass your NCLEX exams, we will welcome you as our colleagues in the profession of nursing,” McClendon told the group.

“This program really prepares you well to be a nurse—GPC makes good nurses, and that’s why I chose it,” said Rachel Triesman, who hopes to work as an operating room nurse.