The Allied Health Programs Class of 2015 at Gateway Community College (GCC) will hold its annual Pinning Ceremony on Tuesday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the college’s Community Room (N100). The Pinning Ceremony marks the transition from student to professional for 59 graduates who have successfully completed one of Gateway Community College’s nine Allied Health programs.

Since 1855, pinning ceremonies have been a long-standing tradition that began with the nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale. When special nursing schools were later founded using Nightingale’s principles and practices, the awarding of pins and medals to outstanding graduates became increasingly common until it was eventually established as a rite of passage from student to practitioner.

GCC’s Allied Health Programs offer associate degrees and certificates for some of the most rapidly advancing careers in modern medicine. They include four specialties in diagnostic imaging and therapy: diagnostic medical sonography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy and radiography; three specialties in nutrition and fitness: nutrition and dietetics, exercise science and wellness and fitness specialist studies; and programs for pre-dental hygiene and pre-allied health.

The following students are in the Allied Health Class of 2015:

• Beacon Falls resident Kerrianne Kraft;
• Bloomfield resident Aurelie Green;
• Branford residents Laura Gogliettino and Hushan Yin;
• Bridgeport resident Sabrina McKelvie;
• Cheshire resident Barys Somiahulin;
• Clinton residents Megan Criscuolo and Jessie Short;
• Colchester resident Kristen Fuini;
• East Haven residents Matthew Poleshek, Christiana Perrelli, Mark Hales and Francis Sebbie;
• Haddam resident Rachel Normandy;
• Hamden residents Courtney Erin Brown and Esther Blanco;
• Higganum resident Paiten Melanson;
• Killingworth resident Nicole Dessin;
• Meriden residents Sarah Morassini, Laura Horniak and Daniel Tooley;
• Milford residents Kilee Vargo, Michael Wan and Rishi Unjia;
• Naugatuck resident Melissa Lavranchuk;
• New Haven residents Jacqueline Algarin, Sharon Jacobs, Alina Klimkiewicz and Kossi Yome;
• Newington resident Vanessa Sofia Levano;
• North Branford residents Denise McMorrow-Sawyer, Samantha Marie Green, Casey Boudreau, Jocelyn Witkowsky, Richard Pfeiffer, and Ashley Stone;
• North Haven residents Courtney Biase, Deanna Katz, and Kristen White;
• Northford resident Sarah Kaminsky;
• Norwich resident Rishi Patel;
• Pomfret Center resident Jamie Clukey;
• Portland resident Annamaria D’Alessandro Moran;
• Quaker Hill resident Jacqueline O’Neill;
• Shelton resident Michelle Burgess;
• Stratford residents Doreen Otero and Brittany Podolak;
• Wallingford residents Tayler Hazelwood, Kelly Kiernan, Kayla Kazimer, Dan Papale, Randi Keogh and Brandon Rusczek;
• Waterbury resident Patricia Calcada;
• Waterford resident Julie Tuma;
• West Haven residents Vanessa Camacho and Kira Perry;
• Westport resident Priscilla Teixeira;
• Wethersfield resident Mareike Faust.