The Department of Nursing honored its junior students in the annual lamplighting, held Feb. 21.
The traditional ceremony, which recognized the Class of 2027, took place in Krehbiel Auditorium, with the 13 class members participating.
Three members of the class had roles in the lamplighting service.
Junior Alaycea Kremeier welcomed friends and family to the lamplighting, followed by junior Karleigh Buethner offering an invocation prayer.
Krista Miller, B.S.N., assistant professor of nursing, told about the meaning of lamplighting, a Bethel tradition that honors upper-class nursing students for their commitment to the profession.
The Bethel men’s a cappella group Open Road performed “If” (David Gates; arr. by the Suntones).
The students recited the “I Believe” pledge, followed by the ceremony in which lamps are lit and presented to each student to keep.
The lamplighting ceremony has its origin in the Crimean War between England and Russia, 1853-56, when British nurse Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing, volunteered to go to Scutari, Turkey, with a group of about 30 women to care for the wounded soldiers.
Nightingale spent up to 20 hours a day dressing wounds, comforting soldiers, assisting in surgery, directing staff and maintaining records. The men called her “the Lady with a Lamp” after the Turkish candle lantern she carried as she provided care, going from soldier to soldier.
North Newton ceramic artist Conrad Snider designed and produces the lamps given to Bethel junior nursing students.
After the presentation of lamps, Open Road sang “Ride the Chariot” (composed and arranged by William Henry Smith), and junior Hope Jacobs gave the closing.
In addition to honoring junior nursing students, the lamplighting has become a time when the students express their gratitude and appreciation to the families and communities who support them in their studies.
Members of the Bethel College nursing class of 2027 honored at the lamplighting were: Karleigh Buethner, Augusta; Jocelynn Burnett, Wichita; Corey Catron, Rossville; Madalyn Dobrinski, Lincolnville; Camryn Entz, Newton; Adrianna Floro, Bentley; Abigail Griffin, Wichita; Abigail Hablitzel, Salina; Hope Jacobs, Wamego; Alaycea Kremeier, Newton; Daniela Navarro, Emporia; Ashlyn Rushing, Mansfield, Texas; and Trinity Williamson, Sedgwick.
Bethel nursing faculty, in addition to Miller, are: Becky Bartell, M.S.N., assistant professor of nursing and director of the Department of Nursing; Heather Hosford, M.S.N., assistant professor of nursing; Sarah Masem, D.N.P., professor of nursing and assistant director of the Department of Nursing; and Jeri Melin, M.S.N., adjunct instructor.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
PHOTO BY NATHAN GUIJON: The Bethel College nursing Class of 2027, following the lamplighting on Feb. 21, 2026, from left: (front row) Karleigh Buethner, Madalyn Dobrinski, Camryn Entz, Abigail Griffin, Alaycea Kremeier and Ashlyn Rushing; (back row) Jocelynn Burnett, Corey Catron, Adrianna Floro, Trinity Williamson, Abigail Hablitzel, Hope Jacobs and Daniela Navarro.
