Caroline Njau, who chairs the School of Nursing’s advisory board and serves as chief nursing officer and senior vice president of patient care services at Children’s Minnesota, was excited to welcome the graduates as her new colleagues in healthcare spaces. “You’re the nurses we need right now: highly skilled professionals who are culturally responsive, with clinical excellence, and work proactively toward whole-person care, advance health equity and social justice,” Njau said. “You are going to help us close those gaps for our communities.” Each of the nursing candidates will officially receive their diplomas later this weekend during graduate commencement, but the pinning ceremony served as an intimate chance to celebrate with family, friends and the School of Nursing’s most ardent supporters.
John and Susan Morrison, the lead benefactors of the Morrison Family College of Health and the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing, were on hand for the pinning ceremony. As a nurse, Susan worked in obstetrics, in a teen clinic, in chemical dependency and more. The couple told graduates that each of them will have an immeasurable impact in the years ahead. “One person can change the lives of thousands of people,” John Morrison said. “One person can change the life of another, and then another, and that’s what this is all about.” The School of Nursing recently received accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Pursued in tandem with the school’s opening, the accreditation supports the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program and the school's four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, which will graduate its first class in 2026. For this year’s inaugural MSN cohort, Executive Director of Nursing Dr. Annette Hines encouraged candidates to reflect on their accomplishments and the reason why they wanted to pursue a nursing career in the first place.
Maddie Devich '24 MSN hugs her mother during the School of Nursing pinning ceremony. Devich plans to pursue a nursing position in an emergency department. (Brandon Woller ’17/University of St. Thomas)
“Reconnect with your wonderful family and friends, who I’m sure would love to spend some time with you, but also take time and reflect on the why,” Hines said. “Remember why you chose to become a nurse. It connects you to a commitment to make a difference in people’s lives.”
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