Cheska Lugue celebrates with her family at the University of Guam's Nurses Pinning Ceremony held at the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort on May 19. View Flickr photo gallery.

 

Thinking back to her 2006 deployment in Iraq, Michelle Radovan said the people that stood out to her the most were the nurses she met.

“The nurses there were so supportive,” said the 2015 nursing class president. “I told them I wanted to be a nurse. They showed me around. They took me under their wing, and for me that itself was like, this is what I want to do. This is where I belong.”

Dressed in white with bright smiles on their faces, the newly pinned BSN Class of 2015 was applauded for their efforts at last night’s Nurses Pinning Ceremony held at the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort.

This year, 32 students graduated with a bachelor’s of science in nursing from the University of Guam, a degree program some say is more rigorous than comparable programs in the mainland. 

“It’s a very challenging program,” said 24-year-old nursing student Jennifer Villaverde. “I think we had exams every other week if not every week depending on the semester. This program is a really tough one. I have friends in nursing school off-island, and they say compared to theirs, ours is pretty intense. And that’s a good thing.”

School of Nursing Dean Margaret Hattori-Uchima said the reason for this is because of the hands-on experience they get during their clinicals. 

“It is much more intense,” she said, “because GMH and the clinics allow the students to do more difficult skills. We’re lucky that GMH allows the students to do the hands-on skills because they know the students are going to be the nurses in the future.”

The next step in the journey is passing the NCLEX, the nurses licensing exam. Hattori-Uchima said that in the past, UOG graduates had very high passing rates, and she’s got faith in this year’s class to continue the legacy.

“We’re very confident with this current group of seniors that the pass rate will be at or surpass the national average,” she said.

Radovan, who is originally from California, initially chose Guam and UOG because it offered the nursing degree program, but after more than two years, both the island and the university held a special place in her heart.

“Guam seemed very appealing,” she said. “[UOG’s] curriculum and the fact that they offer nursing was a big plus. After a while [Guam and UOG] became our home away from home.”