12-05-2025
Congrats, grads!: NCMC hosts commencement, Nurse Pinning ceremonies
PETOSKEY — North Central Michigan College hosted its two biggest celebrations of the year on Friday, May 9.
Both the annual Nurse Pinning and commencement ceremonies took place at the college's Petoskey Plastics Arena, with hundreds of students receiving their diplomas and celebrating with their friends and families.
The traditional Nurse Pinning allows the graduates to be pinned by loved ones welcoming them into the field of nursing. Each graduate had short letters of thanks read aloud to the crowd, and together they read the International Pledge of Nurses.
Later that evening, the arena filled again for the main commencement ceremony, where NCMC graduate and Schoolcraft College's Chief of Staff Beth LaForest served as the keynote speaker.
Stafford Smith, founder of Stafford's Hospitality, and Dudley Marvin, who became president of Stafford's Hospitality in 1980, both received honorary degrees of Community Service during the ceremony.
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More than 295 graduates walked across the stage and received their diplomas during the college's 65th annual commencement exercises.
The full ceremonies can be viewed online at
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@ Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: NCMC hosts 2025 commencement, Nurse Pinning ceremonies
