JANESVILLE — Thirty-three graduating Nursing students were celebrated on Thursday evening in a special pinning ceremony for their completion of the Associate Degree of Nursing.

“How many times did we think we would never see this pinning ceremony? That we’d never see our names printed in this program? The last two years have been daunting, exhausting and rigorous. I just want us to take a moment to realize that we made it,” Lauren Comella, graduate and student speaker, told her fellow graduates.

The pinning ceremony is a rite of passage for nursing graduates. The tradition began in the 1860s when Queen Victoria awarded Florence Nightingale the Red Cross of St. George to recognize her service as a nurse during the Crimean War. Nightingale, who is credited as the founder of modern nursing, wanted to share this recognition. She later presented medals to her nursing students.

At Blackhawk, each nursing student designates a person in their life to “pin” them. That person — often a family member or friend — presents the graduate with a pin.

Led by nursing graduate Cheyenne Stewart, the graduates also recited the Nightingale Pledge, which is often cited at pinning ceremonies for nurses and is like the Hippocratic oath that is recited by new physicians.

Itzel Bernal received the Students’ Choice Award. The students voted for one classmate who’d they like caring for them or their loved ones.

Many of the graduates have already been hired by area health care providers. Jobs range from neonatal, geriatrics and mental health care. Several also are going on to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing.