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It was a night of milestones when 91ԭ�� held its nursing pinning ceremony for the Spring 2026 class on May 12. The first milestone – this class is the largest in the college’s history, graduating 42 students. The second milestone – this class also marks the 10th anniversary of the first pinning ceremony the college held.

“We’ve celebrated hundreds of graduates over the last 10 years of our nursing program,” said Dr. Paula Gordon, interim dean of the School of Health Sciences. “It’s gratifying to think about how far we’ve come and the impact our nurses make in Gwinnett County and beyond. And it’s fitting that this pinning ceremony is also held on International Nurses Day.”

For Hunter Brune-Herrera, a Gwinnett County resident, the decision to become a nurse is tradition.

“I have many family members who are nurses and others in the medical field,” he said. “My dad is a flight nurse and my mom works in the ICU.”

Brune-Herrera will start his career at Emory University Hospital Midtown, working in the complex medical unit.

Fellow graduate Nana Amma Opoku, a Lawrenceville resident, hopes to follow her passion in nursing by working in either a NICU or ICU.

“I’ve been inspired by my family because a lot of them are nurses,” she said. “I’d like to start by working on a hospital floor for a couple of years.”

Opoku isn’t the first in her family to graduate from GGC’s nursing program.

“My older cousin graduated from here and is now working in pharmacology,” she said.

The journey from the first day of class to being pinned has centered on turning classroom lessons into hands-on practice. Along the way, graduates say the bonds formed with classmates became just as meaningful as the academic experience.

“There really is a lot of collaboration and teamwork,” said Brune-Herrera. “The whole process is rewarding and helps keep you on track with your studies.”

For future nursing students, Opoku offered some words of wisdom.

“Get an externship so you have that hands-on experience,” she said. “And do your best.”

The walls inside the Donald K. Balfour II Health Sciences building are lined with framed photos celebrating each graduating nursing class. Now, another class of future nurses will take its place — marking both a historic milestone and a decade of preparing healthcare professionals to serve their communities.