UTEP Nursing Graduates Honored at Summer 2025 Pinning Ceremony
UTEP Nursing Graduates Honored at Summer 2025 Pinning Ceremony
The UTEP College of Nursing celebrated its Summer 2025 graduating class with the traditional Pinning Ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at Magoffin Auditorium. Ninety-six nursing graduates took the stage, surrounded by family and friends who gathered to honor the culmination of their rigorous academic and clinical training, marking their transition into the nursing profession.
The Pinning Ceremony is a time-honored tradition unique to nursing. More intimate and emotional than the larger university Commencement, it recognizes not only scholarly achievement, but also the personal and professional growth students undergo through their academic journey.
“The pinning ceremony is a special moment of pride for our students, their families and our faculty,” said Leslie Robbins, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing. “It honors the hard work, compassion and commitment that define what it means to be a nurse.”
Rooted in the legacy of Florence Nightingale, the symbolic tradition includes lighting lamps and reciting the Nightingale Pledge, reaffirming their commitment to compassionate care. Receiving the nursing pin represents the transition from student to professional nurse.
The ceremony also included the presentation of the DAISY Award, which recognizes a student who exemplifies outstanding, compassionate patient care. The Summer 2025 honoree was Angelica Martinez, nominated by clinical instructor Angelica Contreras for her emotional strength and patient advocacy while caring for a young oncology patient during her pediatric oncology rotation.
Martinez supported a young patient undergoing painful treatments and brought visible comfort to the child’s mother by recognizing their faith and offering prayers from her church community. Despite the emotional weight of the situation, Martinez reassured the patient and the patient’s mother of their courage and remained a steady presence at the bedside.
“What she offered that day went far beyond what could be taught in a textbook: she was a calming presence, a source of hope, and a witness to a family’s love and pain,” Contreras said. “Her actions reflected the very essence of nursing, not just in skill, but in compassion, emotional presence and the courage to show up for others in their most vulnerable moments.”
Nursing students face long clinical hours, rigorous exams and the daily pressures of their training. As their journey culminates in the Pinning Ceremony, they are reminded that while critical thinking and clinical knowledge are vital, it is compassion that often leaves the most lasting impact.
The Summer 2025 Pinning Ceremony served as the meaningful close to one chapter and the beginning of the next, as the newest UTEP nursing graduates embark on their careers and enter the field prepared and committed to compassionate patient care and service in the region.
