Spring 2026 UND Nursing Pinning Ceremony

Thursday, May 14, 2026 | 6 PM
Memorial Union Ballroom, Grand Forks, ND

Program

Processional

Reading of the UND Land Acknowledgement Statement

Chantel Vazquez, BSN, RN, RAIN Nurse Mentor

Master of Ceremonies

Tracy Bergum, BSEd, Assistant Director, Office of Student Services

Welcome

Maridee Shogren, DNP, CNM, CLC, Dean, College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines

Keynote Address

Carson Pagnac, BSN, RN

Presentation of the Pins

Maridee Shogren
Pinning Announcer: Kale Warner, Semester 3 Nursing Student

Closing Remarks

Stephanie Christian, PhD, RN, Clinical Associate Professor, Undergraduate Nursing Chair

On-Campus Spring 2026 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Graduates

Brianna Anderson

Isabel Anderson

Greta Anderson

Jadyn Arel

Addison Bachmeier

Makenna Baeth

Alexis Bengtson

Emily Benson

Caroline Bodine

Kalyn Bohrer

Alice Brownotter

Brenna Busch

Julia Carns

Eliana Cole

Makenna Coleman

Mira Cook

Lily Costello

Alaina Eiden

Hilary Ernst

Elizabeth Feld

Bella Golomb

Megan Heinen

Lauren Hillman

Jacob Holden

Shelby Holman

Ryan Ketterling

Ellie Kleven

Cam Kofstad

Paige Krueger

Makenna Langston

Madeline Lipetzky

Elise McFarren

Pauline Chamomile Minoza

Nancy Maldonado

Claire Murphy

Madison Paintner

Kydyn Pastorek

Molly Petersen

Joseph Peterson

Alyssa Pierce

Jackson Polries

Paw Lay Pway

Olivia Rajpathy

Tommie Raymond

Jaylene Rosencrans

Madison Schaff

Caleb Schmiedeberg

Morgan Soine

Mattea Steeke

Nathan Stegmiller

Mataya Stenerson

Hailey Tarr

McKenna Thompson

Kajsa Thrawl

Madison Towers

Megan Vasek

Ashlee Welch

Jasmine Welke

Kylie Woods

Stella York

RN-BSN Summer 2026 Graduates

Michelle Alcantar

Teri Belgarde

Jacey Decoteau

Rebecca Flaten

Sarah Gage

Alana Goings

Misti Mackay

Ellie Manninen

Martha McDonald

Sara Mutzenberger

Seaira Nygaard

Maxwell Oppongware

Laurie Pryor

Brandon Ryfiak

Jovita Tenai

The History of the Pin

The first nursing class graduated from the “Division of Nursing” at UND in 1951. A core group of seven of the nine graduates designed the College of Nursing pin.

The pin is gold with a green Maltese Cross. Green was selected to correspond with the university colors of green and white. The cross was the badge of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, a religious order, whose primary work was the care of the sick.

The group moved to Malta in the late 1500s, where they were commonly known as the Knights of Malta. Their badge was known as the Maltese Cross, which now symbolizes nursing, health, and caring, a fitting symbol for the graduates of the Department of Nursing to wear. The Maltese Cross was initially surrounded by the words “School of Nursing.”

Changes to the pin through UND’s history

In the summer of 1959, the words on the pin were changed to “College of Nursing” when the Division of Nursing was designated a College.

In November of 2012, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education approved a name change from the College of Nursing to the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines. This was done to recognize Social Work and Nutrition and Dietetics as departments belonging to the College.

In the spring of 2014, the words on the Maltese Cross were changed to UND Nursing to recognize Nursing as a department within the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines.