[Bridgeview, IL] On Saturday, December 1, Northwestern College conducted its Radiography Pinning Ceremony for the Fall 2018 Radiologic Technology Program graduates. Sixteen (16) graduates participated in the ceremony, which served as their formal induction into the Radiologic Technology profession.
The Radiography Pinning Ceremony was conducted in the auditorium of Northwestern College’s Bridgeview Campus. The 16 Radiologic Technology graduates that were pinned by the Program’s Director, Catherine Guerrero, included Christopher Bouschlicher; Annette Foks; Kevin Gamalo; Joseph Harding; Emily Holcomb; John Jurney; Katelyn Kruse; Kristen Look; Anastasia Marchiori; Christine Maroney; Sydney McCarthy; Danielle Mowatt; Jacob Pierson; Victor Rubino; Michael Sroka; and Juan Carlos Zermeno.
The Fall 2018 Radiologic Technology graduates were the second class to participate in this public pinning ceremony, marking the completion of their studies in Radiologic Technology (RT). Although this Northwestern College program yielded its first graduates in 2011, there had not been a pinning ceremony to mark the occasion until more recent students requested one.
The ceremony began with the graduates processing into the auditorium. Raj Patel, an Instructor as well as Clinical Coordinator, served as the Master of Ceremony. Patel is also a 2012 graduate of the Program. He introduced Northwestern College’s Chief Executive Officer, Dimitrios Kriaras, who welcomed all those gathered and presented some additional remarks.
Radiologic Technology graduate Victor Rubino was selected to serve as the Student Speaker at the ceremony. He took the opportunity to present a heartwarming speech to his fellow graduates, the RT faculty and administration, as well as the friends and family gathered.
During the pinning ceremony, Gary Gruenewald, Associate Professor & Clinical Coordinator, presented a recitation of the history of radiologic technology. As part of his speech, Gruenewald explained that even though Northwestern College’s Radiologic Technology Program only has a ten -year history, the program actually has over 80 years of history, for it had first been launched in 1935 as part of Chicago’s Ravenswood Hospital. Sixty-seven (67) years later, upon its closing in 2002, Ravenswood transferred the School to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Then in 2008, authority was granted to Northwestern College to assume the responsibility of educating and training highly qualified radiographers.
The Pinning Ceremony continued with the traditional presentation of pins to each individual student, with Radiologic Technology Program Director Guerrero doing the honors. The Director attached a specially designed pin to the lab coat of each graduate after their name was announced. Following the pinning of all graduates, the ceremony continued with each graduate presenting a rose to a particular person who had been instrumental in their educational journey. A farewell address followed, given by Director Guerrero, with the ceremony concluding with a pictorial presentation of the graduating class’s 2-year journey to graduation and their pinning ceremony. A reception hosted by the College was held immediately afterwards.
Students that successfully complete Northwestern College’s RT Program will have earned their Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Radiologic Technology. Each graduate can then sit for The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists exam (ARRT). Upon passage of this licensing examination, they will be registered technologists in radiography and will have earned the R.T.(R) credential.
“You are about to enter a world of elite professionals and become part of an imaging world that is the heartbeat of the healthcare industry,” Radiologic Technology Director Catherine Guerrero said to the graduates during the ceremony. “You will become an integral part of healthcare, one where diagnosis, early detection, and life-saving treatments are all made possible by the work you will be doing, so be proud of your profession.”
In her concluding remarks, Director Guerrero provided some final advice to the graduating radiologic technologists. “With every patient you touch, use your hands and your heart, and let empathy and professionalism be the fingerprint you leave behind.”
About Northwestern College:
Northwestern College (NC) is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 263-0456, www.hlcommission.org. The college offers focused career-oriented associate degree and certificate programs with flexible schedules and a supportive faculty. Day, evening, weekend, online classes and online programs are available. More information can be found at www.NC.edu or by calling toll-free (888) 205-2283.
Media Contact: Laura Pollastrini, lmpollastrini@nc.edu