RLC holds pinning ceremony for 2026 Nursing Students
Student Success
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RLC holds pinning ceremony for 2026 Nursing Students

June 1, 2026

INA, Ill. (June 1, 2026) — Rend Lake College held a pinning ceremony on May 14 to celebrate more than 30 students who successfully completed the associate degree nursing program.

A large group photo of nursing students from the 2026 Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program standing on tiered risers on a stage with a black curtain backdrop. All students are wearing matching dark navy or black medical scrubs.  The students are arranged in three rows, from left to right:  Front Row: Tori Trout, Chelsea Bonilla, K-Sha Morgan, Alexis Mendenall, Emily Crews, Kris Kreger, Madison Lane, Karlea Harris, Paige Greenwalt, Lillian Myers, Josie Jackson  Middle Row: Katie Campbell, Alexandria Brown, Kelsey Braden-Stroud, Tylar Helbig, Jade Neal, Cortney Lach, Krista Nickell, Leah York, Morgan Heil, Saylor Lappin, Lexie Sala  Back Row: Hallie Woodrow, Jayla Shelton, Brooklyn Knight, David Woodcock, Michael Parks, Karlie Murphy, Kylie Cockrum, Kaitlyn Worley, Elizabeth Eastham, Shianne Dejear

Front Row (L-R): Tori Trout, Chelsea Bonilla, K-Sha Morgan, Alexis Mendenall, Emily Crews, Kris Kreger, Madison Lane, Karlea Harris, Paige Greenwalt, Lillian Myers, Josie Jackson

Middle Row (L-R): Katie Campbell, Alexandria Brown, Kelsey Braden-Stroud, Tylar Helbig, Jade Neal, Cortney Lach, Krista Nickell, Leah York, Morgan Heil, Saylor Lappin, Lexie Sala

Back Row (L-R): Hallie Woodrow, Jayla Shelton, Brooklyn Knight, David Woodcock, Michael Parks, Karlie Murphy, Kylie Cockrum, Kaitlyn Worley, Elizabeth Eastham, Shianne Dejear

The ceremony featured a prayer, led by Paige Greenwalt, and a speech from the class speaker, Michael Parks, followed by the presentation of pins by the nursing program faculty: Dr. Susan Wiley (Director of the Nursing Program), Denise Griffith (Associate Nursing Professor), Sarah Hopfinger (Associate Nursing Professor), Cheyenne McCoy (Nursing Instructor), and Zach Hostetter (Associate Nursing Professor). To close the ceremony, Kaitlyn Worley led the Class of 2026 in the Nightingale Pledge.

A close-up shot of nursing student Michael Parks standing at a dark podium with a microphone, delivering a speech on a stage. He is wearing glasses and black medical scrubs with an institutional patch on the left sleeve. A brick wall and a red stage curtain are visible in the background.

Parks gives his class speaker speech.

A close-up shot of nursing student Kaitlyn Worley standing at a podium with a microphone on a stage. She has long, curly blonde hair, wears tortoiseshell glasses, and is dressed in black medical scrubs with a nursing pin visible near her collar. A red stage curtain is on the left, and a projection screen is in the background.

Worley leads the Class of 2026 in the Nightingale Pledge.

Nursing Graduates

Chelsea Bonilla (Mt. Vernon)

Kelsey Braden-Stroud (Ewing)

Alexandria Brown (Benton)

Katie Campbell (Marion)

Kylie Cockrum (Christopher)

Emily Crews (Buckner)

Shianne Dejear (Benton)

Elizabeth Eastham (Waltonville)

Paige Greenwalt (Bluford)

Karlea Harris (Sesser)

Morgan Heil (Benton)

Tylar Helbig (Du Quoin)

Josie Jackson (McLeansboro)

Brooklyn Knight (Bluford)

Kris Kreger (Du Bois)

Cortney Lach (Energy)

Madison Lane (Herrin)

Saylor Lappin (Sesser)

Alexis Mendenall (Ina)

K-Sha Morgan (Benton)

Kameron Muhammad (Murphysboro)

Karlie Murphy (Benton)

Lillian Myers (Centralia)

Jade Neal (Benton)

Krista Nickell (Pinckneyville)

Michael Parks (Bluford)

Khrystie Walker Peyton (Zeigler)

Lexie Sala (Herrin)

Jayla Shelton (Benton)

Tori Trout (Mt. Vernon)

Emma Wisehart (Woodlawn)

David Woodcock (Tamaroa)

Hallie Woodrow (McLeansboro)

Kaitlyn Worley (Benton)

Leah York (McLeansboro)

*Click photo to enhance.

For more information on the nursing program, visit rlc.edu/nursing or email ah_info@rlc.edu.

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