TESU’s Accelerated BSN Program graduates celebrated their academic milestone with a Pinning Ceremony on April 30, while mourning the loss of fellow student Tanique Chue.
The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions honored 15 pre-licensure nursing students who completed its Accelerated BSN Program with a pinning ceremony at George A. Pruitt Hall on April 30.
The rite of passage, dating back to the 1860s, heralds an important transition into the profession for nursing students who have completed the academic and clinical components of their studies and are now prepared to sit for the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).
During the ceremony, Marie Fils-Aime of Irvington, Kelsey Pou of East Orange and Stefanny Serrano of Westwood, N.J., and Christina Vanada of Newtown, Pa., were inducted into the University’s prestigious Upsilon Rho Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
“This pinning ceremony was particularly bittersweet for our students, their families and staff,” noted Lorraine Chewey, Ed.D., associate dean of Undergraduate Programs at the School. “We collectively mourned the loss of cohort member, Tanique Chue, who began the 15-month program with fellow students but whose life, and that of her seven-year-old son’s, was tragically cut short in a plane crash near Myrtle Beach in July.”
Chue’s family members attended the ceremony and an empty chair marked the seat she would have taken among her peers.
“Her mother and sister accepted the School’s ceremonial pin on her behalf. Since Tanique was at the top of her class at the time of her death, she was posthumously inducted into TESU’s Upsilon Rho Chapter,” said Chewey. “The sense of solidarity and unity that customarily surrounds this ceremony took on an even deeper meaning for all of us.”
Dennison Rougier of Brooklyn, N.Y., was honored with the DAISY Award during the event. Honorees are nominated for the award by their clinical educators. The distinction celebrates nursing students who show extraordinary care and compassion to patients and their families.
“The celebration also centers on our nursing students’ dedication, unity and resilience during the program’s short duration,” added Chewey. “They all triumphed from their hard work, and, in a scant 15 months, are poised to become highly valued, competent and empathetic members of their profession.”
The Accelerated BSN Program’s NCLEX-RN first-time pass rates are a testament to the school’s ongoing effectiveness in preparing pre-licensure nurses to enter the profession. According to data published in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s “Program Summary of all First-Time Candidates Licensed in All Jurisdictions” fourth-quarter first-time pass rates report, the average pass rate for students in the program during 2023 was 100% (pg. 56).
Vi-Anne Antrum, DNP