The School of the Art of Nursing held its annual ceremony on Friday, February 18, 1949, in the assembly hall of the American University of Beirut.
On the platform sat the twelve students who had passed the preliminary period of study for entrance into the School of Nursing. The mistress of the ceremony, Miss Moser, head of the School of Nursing, presented the Reverend Fareed Audeh of the Arab Evangelical Church, who opened the celebration with a prayer.
Following custom, the students came forward one after another to Miss Jane Marr, head of technical instruction for the nurses, who placed upon the head of each of them the Cap, which is the emblem of the nurses. Then they returned, each carrying a candle lighted for them by Widad Khalaf, president of the students' association. Then they went back to their places with their lighted torches.
The speaker of the ceremony, President Penrose, dwelt on the importance of the role played by the art of nursing, and on the services the nurses render to all.
The students afterward sang a spiritual hymn and recited the Nightingale Pledge. This was the first such ceremony the public was permitted to attend, and the seats were packed with them; in the past it had been restricted to a few individuals among the doctors and the friends of the hospital.
Miss Jane Marr (head of technical instruction) places the Cap on the head of one of the students.
A student lights her candle from the hand of Miss Widad Khalaf, according to the traditional custom.