Kaua‘i Community College nursing graduates receive Nurses’ Pin in ceremony

Seventeen Kaua‘i Community College nursing graduates took a major step toward licensure at the KCC Performing Arts Center on May 16, adding a new class of trained nurses to Kaua‘i’s health-care pipeline. In a county where hospitals, clinics and elder-care facilities depend on a small workforce, each graduating cohort carries real weight.

The pinning ceremony came after Friday’s 61st Commencement and marked the transition from school to the next stage of nursing practice. The Nurses’ Pin is more than a keepsake. It symbolizes commitment and dedication to the profession, and the tradition reaches back to Florence Nightingale.

KCC’s graduates were Sara Allen, Ashley Maria Domingo, Fhebby Kate Dumayas, Shandelle Kapuniai, Madison Keane, Kimi Nagahisa, John Daryll Nostares, Gillian Angelica Perdido, Jeanica Perpose, Alvin Guillermo Rafael, Pauline Sarah Kate Ragus, Heather Seely, Elizabeth Siegel, Roxanne Udaundo, Ashlie Williams, Ashley Wood and Kailey Zemel. Their names reflect the scale of the island’s local training effort and the direct link between classroom preparation and the nursing jobs Kaua‘i needs filled.

The ceremony also underscored the college’s standing as a dependable feeder into health care. Kaua‘i Community College has a 100% success rate on the nurses’ exam, a record that reinforces the program’s value for an island where access to care remains a constant public concern. As these graduates move toward that exam and the start of their careers, their progress will shape how much relief they can eventually bring to local medical facilities and care homes.

For Kaua‘i, this was not just a school milestone. It was another sign that the island’s own nurses are being trained here, pinned here and prepared to serve here.