23/09/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | Riverside College honors 870 Level 2 student nurses in 68th Capping & Candlelighting Ceremony
Riverside College honored 870 second-year nursing students during its 68th Capping and Candlelighting Ceremony themed โExcellence without Borders: Innovating Care, Inspiring Change,โ marking their formal initiation into the nursing profession at the SMX Convention Center, September 22.
The ceremony highlighted the studentsโ commitment to compassionate care, professional excellence, and service as they advanced to the next stage of their nursing education.
Before the ceremony formally commenced, Rev. Fr. Farley Rey Santillan presided over the Holy Mass, followed by the introduction of guest speaker Rozzano C. Locsin, RN, PhD, FAAN, by Clinical Coordinator Shalaine E. Lumauod, RN, MN.
โThe call for nursing excellence has crossed traditional clinical boundaries, as healthcare systems grapple with complex challenges from entrenched health disparities to the swift integration of Artificial Intelligence. The nursing profession is at the cutting edge of innovation,โ Locsin said.
Furthermore, he emphasized the role of nurses in connecting clinical practice with broader healthcare advocacy.
โNurses are uniquely positioned to be bridges between frontline clinical delivery and systemic advocacy, ensuring that care delivery is culturally humble and structurally sound,โ he added.
Locsin also highlighted the need for nurses to embrace innovation and adopt a forward-looking approach to healthcare.
โExcellence without borders requires a constant willingness to change. Thus, innovation urges the nursing profession to move beyond a retrospective view on care and toward a future-oriented, innovative mindset,โ he highlighted.
โTodayโs nurses are influencing healthcareโs future through the lens of global health equity, transformational leadership, and digital fluency,โ Locsin said.
Following the address, Riverside College President and CEO Samuel Z. Lee, MBM, and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michelle M. Saplada, PhD, presented Locsin with a plaque of appreciation.
Thereafter, Dean of the College of Nursing Joselito L. Murillo, MN, presented the nursing candidates, while clinical instructors conferred the caps and pins, symbolizing the studentsโ preparation to enter the nursing profession, and serve with compassion.
The candidates then lit their candles and recited the Florence Nightingale Pledge, symbolizing their commitment to the values and responsibilities of the nursing profession.
The ceremony concluded with the singing of the Pledge song and the Alma Mater song as the students formally moved forward in their journey toward becoming professional nurses.
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๐ชถ: Patric Lim
๐ธ: Dhaniel Europeo & Francis Camaria