The Bethel Department of Nursing honored its junior students in the annual lamplighting, held Feb. 22.
The traditional ceremony, which recognized the Class of 2026, took place in Krehbiel Auditorium, with the 13 class members participating.
Three members of the class had roles in the lamplighting service.
Junior Lisa Legros welcomed friends and family to the lamplighting, followed by junior Alexia Moore 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 students recited the “I Believe” pledge, followed by the ceremony in which the 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, junior Jennifer Mayen-Aragon 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 2026 honored at the lamplighting were: Haydyn Boor, Mulvane, Kan.; Kennedy Chodak, Andover, Kan.; Joshua Ciers, Houston; Maria Cortes-Hernandez, Freeman, S.D.; Dulce Erazo-Tejada, Newton; Olivia Keen, Bel Aire, Kan.; Lisa Legros, Wichita; Jennifer Mayen-Aragon, Wichita; Alexia Moore, Wichita; Heydi Ortez-Mezquita, Dodge City, Kan.; Janet Sanner, Hutchinson, Kan.; Aleah Shaw, Salina, Kan.; and Julie Wilhite, Haven, Kan.
Bethel nursing faculty, in addition to Miller, are: Becky Bartell, M.S.N., assistant professor of nursing and director of the Department of Nursing; Elizabeth Herbel, D.N.P., assistant professor of nursing; Heather Hosford, M.S.N., assistant professor of nursing; Jenna Lehrman, M.S.N., adjunct instructor; 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 was the first Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see https://www.bethelks.edu
