The tradition of elaborately decorated caps set the nursing graduates apart at graduation. There were 49 students who earned an associate degree in nursing at the College of Southern Maryland’s 18th Winter Commencement ceremony held Jan. 19 at the La Plata Campus. In addition to the larger ceremony in the evening, the nursing students marked their graduation at the Nursing Recognition Ceremony earlier in the day, where each student was pinned by a member of the CSM nursing faculty. The class selected Kara Leonard of Lexington Park as their student speaker for the Nursing Recognition Ceremony. Elisa Swift of Waldorf was recognized with the CSM Health Sciences Division Academic Achievement in Nursing Award, given to the graduate with the highest grade point average in the nursing class. Allen Tengco of Waldorf was recognized with the CSM Health Sciences Division Achievement in Nursing Award, presented to the graduate who demonstrates academic achievement, clinical competence, community service and leadership potential.