Over the past 26 years, Brock University has equipped generations of nurses with the skills and knowledge needed to provide professional, compassionate care.

Now, Brock Nursing is inviting its more than 2,200 graduates back to campus to reflect on the evolution of the School of Nursing — which recently transitioned from the Department of Nursing — and its ongoing impact.

A Nursing Celebration will be held on campus Friday, Sept. 18 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Residence 8 Dining Hall. Part of Brock’s annual Homecoming, the event will honour the graduates, faculty, staff, students, community partners and supporters who have helped shape the University’s Nursing legacy.

Among the proud grads in attendance will be Mahoganie Hines (BScN ’16), a Nursing Educator with Hospice Palliative Care Ontario who will speak about how her Brock Nursing education has supported her career.

“Brock gave me much more than the foundation to become a nurse,” she says. “It helped me develop the confidence to think critically, ask questions and recognize that nursing has a role in shaping health care — not simply working within the systems that already exist.”

In addition to celebrating the growth of Nursing at Brock, Hines is looking forward to hearing from peers about where their careers have taken them and the impact they’ve had in their communities and across the profession.

“This is an opportunity to celebrate where it all began,” she says. “Our nursing education was the starting point for careers that have touched countless patients, families, communities and health-care systems.”

Growing that impact — felt beyond campus in the Niagara region and communities across Canada — has been a driving factor for Brock Nursing since its inception, says Karyn Taplay, Director and Associate Professor of the School of Nursing.

“Through our cutting-edge programming and innovative approaches to teaching, our students are positioned to have an immediate impact in the workforce — and that’s exactly what they’ve done,” she says. “Our alumni have gone on to help shape all aspects of the health-care sector. We can’t wait to welcome them back to celebrate their successes and our School’s continued evolution.”

The School of Nursing designation marks a new chapter for Brock’s Nursing legacy.

“We’re thriving, we’re growing and we’re working hard to meet the health-care needs of the population locally and beyond,” Taplay says.

The designation builds on continued growth for Brock Nursing, which in recent years has tripled the size of its undergraduate program and launched the country’s only concurrent Bachelor of Nursing/Master of Nursing program.

To join the Nursing Celebration, please register on the event website.