St. Mary’s Center for Education marks graduation of healthcare professionals with pinning ceremonies

The St. Mary’s Center for Education and Marshall Health Network marked the graduation of its nursing, respiratory care, medical imaging and sonography students with pinning ceremonies Friday, May 8. 

At the School of Nursing pinning ceremony at the Marshall Health Network-St. Mary’s Medical Center Highlawn Center auditorium, 73 nursing graduates received pins, signifying the completion of their nursing training. The graduates also received lamps of light, a traditional symbol of the nursing profession inspired by Florence Nightingale, who is regarded as the founder of modern nursing. 

Students in the School of Nursing receive their Associate of Science in Nursing degree from Marshall University. 

The ceremony coincides with the School of Nursing’s 100th anniversary. Founded in 1926 by the Pallottine Missionary Sisters, the school is the oldest nursing program still operating in West Virginia. The Class of 2026 join the ranks of more than 5,100 nurses who have been trained at St. Mary’s. 

In a separate ceremony in the Pallottine Room of the Center for Education, 18 medical imaging graduates, six sonography students and three respiratory care graduates received pins. Students in the schools of medical imaging and sonography receive their Bachelor of Science degrees from Marshall, while students in the School of Respiratory Care receive degrees from Mountwest Community and Technical College. 

“Today’s pinning ceremonies mark more than the completion of an academic program — they represent a commitment to compassionate, skilled care and service to others,” said Joey Trader, RN, vice president of St. Mary’s Schools of Nursing and Health Professions and director of the School of Nursing at Marshall Health Network. “We are proud to celebrate these graduates as they take the next step in their professional journeys and begin making a meaningful impact in the lives of patients at Marshall Health Network and across our region.” 

Photos from the ceremonies can be found at jcesom.smugmug.com/Events/2026-Events/St-Marys-School-of-Nursing-Pinning-Ceremony and jcesom.smugmug.com/Events/2026-Events/Medical-Imaging-Sonography-and-Respiratory-Care-pinning.