TESU Celebrates New Nurses at Pinning Ceremony
Accelerated BSN Program Continues to Expand with BAYADA Scholars, Advancing Solutions to Nursing Shortage
The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions at Thomas Edison State University celebrated 36 prelicensure nursing students from its Winter 2026 cohort of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program with a pinning ceremony at the New Jersey State Museum on April 23.
The ceremony heralded the students’ entrance into the nursing profession after completing the intensive 15-month program, serving as a poignant reminder of the challenges the students faced together, both in and outside the classroom.
“Programs like TESU’s Accelerated BSN continue to grow because they meet a critical need — preparing skilled, compassionate nurses at a pace that matches the realities of today’s healthcare system,” noted Health Professions Program Coordinator Linda Wicker, R.N., MSN. “The addition of the BAYADA Scholars track has expanded both access and opportunity, allowing us to educate more students while directly addressing the nursing shortage in New Jersey and beyond.”
During the ceremony, Michelle Fotis from the standard track and Nairoby Sanderson from the BAYADA Scholars Track received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Students. The award recognizes those who demonstrate extraordinary compassion and dedication to patient and family care during clinical rotations. They were also inducted into the School’s Upsilon Rho Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society along with Madora Brown, Jessica Jane Kosinski, Marilin Lopez, Rachel A McCusker, Emeka O Mgbemena, Chaya Moskowitz, Irene C Okpukpara and Amber N. Zoppel.
Students in the program completed a combination of on-site lectures, online coursework at TESU and with on-site clinical experiences with community partners BAYADA Scholars/Cooper University Health Care, Trenton Emergency Medical Services, Vitality Hospice, Compassus Home Health Care, Woods Services, Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, St. Peter’s University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton and Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell. Program completers are now eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) before officially entering the profession.
TESU’s Accelerated BSN Program is known for consistently high NCLEX-RN pass rates and offers three admission cycles and start dates per year. For more information about the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions, visit tesu.edu/nursing.