UH Hilo nursing students honor service dog Liam at pinning ceremony

Liam did not just walk across the stage at the University of Hawaii at Hilo School of Nursing’s Spring Pinning Ceremony. Wearing a custom stole, the service dog was pinned by the senior class and recognized as the only graduate on four legs.

For two years, Liam attended every lecture, lab and clinical rotation beside Assistant Professor Tracy Thornett, becoming a familiar part of the nursing classroom at UH Hilo. Students first introduced him to their junior nursing class in fall 2024, and he quickly settled into the daily rhythm of the program.

His path to the ceremony began in Pāpaikou, where he was born, but it took a difficult turn before he ever became a campus regular. Liam could not be registered with the American Kennel Club because of an overbite, and Thornett originally planned for him to become a therapy dog. That plan changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Thornett’s mother was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and had to travel outside Hawaii for treatment. During that period, Liam became Thornett’s official service dog.

Thornett said Liam helped her keep working while she was struggling through that stretch of her life, and his presence also gave nursing students a steady, calming example inside a program built around care. In classrooms and labs, Liam became a symbol of the human connection at the center of nursing, especially in a profession that asks students to balance technical precision with compassion under pressure.

The recognition also fit UH Hilo’s larger nursing program identity. The School of Nursing says its baccalaureate program is approved by the Hawaii State Board of Nursing and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and it describes its mission as serving a diverse student population in a caring, personalized atmosphere. Liam’s honorary pinning underscored how that environment extends beyond textbooks and clinical checklists.

The Spring Nursing Pinning Ceremony came during a busy graduation season for the school. UH Hilo held a White Coat Ceremony for six Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates on May 14 and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing pinning on May 15. The Class of 2026 also included a cohort from Waianae, Oahu, which held its own ceremony.

Thornett’s own UH Hilo connection runs deep. She was part of the university’s inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice cohort in 2012, years before Liam became part of the school’s daily life. His honorary pinning turned a heartfelt campus moment into a statement about what UH Hilo says nursing education should look like: rigorous, personal and grounded in care.