As Lander University honored its William Preston Turner School of Nursing graduates, Laura Lilia Gonzalez told the Class of 2025 that despite academic challenges and obstacles “our journeys show the dedication and passion every single person had” to achieve their goal of becoming a nurse.
Selected by her peers to deliver the class greetings at Lander’s Nursing Recognition Ceremony, Gonzalez said, “No one else in the world will ever truly understand the chaos we survived. Nursing school is not easy. We share that bond together.”
The event included the nursing pinning ceremony for baccalaureate graduates, which marks the transition from a student’s academic journey to a professional career.
Of the 36 undergraduates earning their bachelor’s degrees in nursing, some are first-generation graduates, while others continued a proud legacy to become the fifth generation of nurses in their families, Gonzalez said.
“After today, I have no doubt in my mind that you will be phenomenal nurses,” she said. “You already have proven that you can survive nursing school.”
Among Lander’s Class of 2025, 43 percent will be employed as nurses at Self Regional Healthcare. Others will be working at hospitals throughout South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
The ceremony also honored nursing graduates who had completed their degrees from the College of Graduate and Online Students. These included graduates earning a bachelor’s degree through the RN to BSN program, as well as graduates earning the Master of Science in Nursing.
Dr. Holisa Wharton, dean of the School of Nursing, paid tribute to the practicing and retired nurses in the audience. “Thank you for paving the way for our graduates and for your dedication to the profession.
Wharton called on the graduates to embody the wisdom of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. “Live your life while you have it. Life is a gift. There is nothing small about it. Graduates, there is nothing small about the accomplishments we recognize today – your accomplishments.”
Lander honored academic and leadership achievements with awards, including: