Oklahoma Baptist University honored its class of graduating nurses during the School of Nursing’s Pinning and Lamp Lighting Ceremony held Friday, May 20. The ceremony took place in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium on OBU’s campus in Shawnee.
Dr. Robbie Henson, chair of the OBU School of Nursing, welcomed the graduates and guests to the ceremony. Dr. Larinee Dennis, dean of business, health science, and education, led the invocation. OBU President Dr. Heath A. Thomas offered opening remarks, sharing a brief word of congratulations with the graduating nurses.
Kerri Bayer, RN, senior vice president and chief nurse executive for Integris Health, delivered the address to graduates. She serves as the nursing executive in charge of leading the strategic direction for clinical services throughout the health system, including all clinical excellence, quality and patient safety objectives. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her certifications include clinical nurse leader and critical care registered nurse, and she is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She has more than 20 years of Integris nursing experience, including front-line nursing in intensive care, regulatory compliance, quality, safety, nursing education and many clinical leadership roles.
Harriet Cooper, assistant professor of nursing, discussed the significance of the ceremony. Graduating nurses then received their pins from Henson, including Rilee Elizabeth Arey, Columbia, Missouri; Tess Marie Batchelor, Owasso, Oklahoma; Seth Dixon Berry, Tahlequah, Oklahoma; Ansley Lauren Biesiadecki, Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Sarah Jobeth Davidson, Oklahoma City; Lindsey Renee Dreadfulwater, Tahlequah, Oklahoma; Emily Lauryn Erwin, Elgin, Oklahoma; Olivia Dianne Eskew, Bethany, Oklahoma; Kenzi Elizabeth Fergason, Mansfield, Texas; Abigail Marie Floyd, Gilbert, Arizona; Morgan Marie Friend, Edmond, Oklahoma; Margaret O’Neal Friesen, Lenexa, Kansas; Parker Hughes Gass, Puyallup, Washington; Grace Emilee Gillentine, Moore, Oklahoma; Maci Nicole Hall, Moore; Casie Rian Harper, Shawnee, Oklahoma; Franki Rose Hull, Tecumseh, Oklahoma; Abigail Lynn Kennedy, Oklahoma City; Morgan Paige Krispense, Owasso; and Emily Autumn Rose Ladner, Stilwell, Oklahoma.
Additional graduates receiving their pins included Emma Nicole Lang, Shawnee, Kansas; Mallory Mullins Locke, Arlington, Texas; Victoria Ann Mathews, Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Mariah Jayne McLin, Wellston, Oklahoma; Hayden Grace Meiser, Norman, Oklahoma; Summer Nicole Moran, Shawnee, Oklahoma; Tyler Cole Morgan, Oklahoma City; Chloe Marie Mostek, Oklahoma City; Leann Elizabeth Mullendore, Harrah, Oklahoma; Nina Jessica Peveler, Henderson, Nevada; Tiana Nicole Phillips, Dallas, Texas; Laurel Ann Rosenthal, The Colony, Texas; Grace Caroline Rother. Choctaw, Oklahoma; Kinsey Leigh Rowell, Keller, Texas; Jessica Ruth Schoenecke, Branson, Missouri; Konner Alexis Shields, Owasso; Lauren Kathleen Smither, Owasso; Siara Nichole Snider, Meeker, Oklahoma; and Miranda Mackenzie Toland, Shawnee, Kansas.
Rebecca Coon, assistant professor of nursing, delivered the charge to the graduates, and Megan Smith, assistant professor of nursing, led the benediction.
Watch the nursing pinning and lamp lighting ceremony on the OBU YouTube channel.
For more information about the School of Nursing OBU, visit okbu.edu/nursing.
With its campus located in Shawnee, OBU offers nine bachelor’s degrees with more than 60 fields of study and four master’s degree programs. OBU has been rated as one of the top 10 regional colleges in the West by U.S. News and World Report for 30 consecutive years and Oklahoma’s highest rated regional college in the U.S. News rankings for 28 years. OBU is one of three universities in Oklahoma and the only private Oklahoma university listed on Great Value College’s rankings of 50 Great Affordable Colleges in the Midwest. The Wall Street Journal ranked OBU second in the nation for student engagement among all U.S. colleges and universities. Forbes.com consistently ranks OBU as a top university in Oklahoma and the Princeton Review has named OBU one of the best colleges and universities in the western United States for 17 consecutive years.
For more information about the OBU Nursing Program visit: https://www.okbu.edu/nursing/index.html
