To accommodate 106 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students receiving their Woods Ring on Saturday, the day was split into two ceremonies — one for campus students and another for Woods Online and graduate students.
Receiving a Woods Ring is already a momentous occasion, but for Diana Guzman it was even more special. She received a legacy Ring — which mean she had to apply and be chosen.
“It means I’m a part of something — I’m a part of a tradition, something bigger than myself,” Guzman said. “It feels like a big honor. The Ring symbolized everything about The Woods.”
She didn’t have a chance to go to college when she wanted to, she explained. So, when she had the chance, she jumped on it.
“I plan to get my masters now, and help people who were in my position,” Guzman said. She will continue her work with The Woods by serving on the Future Alumni Association.
For the first time, Ring Day was held in Hamilton Arena located in the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center. The Church of Immaculate Conception, the usual venue for the ceremony, remains closed to the public due to COVID.
Mikayla Hudgens, a junior nursing major who received her Ring on Saturday, wasn’t a fan of the ceremony being held in the gym, but she said it didn’t take away from the day.
“I honestly was very against having it in the gym, but when I got here it didn’t feel like it was supposed to happen anywhere else,” Hudgens said.
The day marked not one, but two special successes for her. Not only did Dottie L. King, Ph.D., president of SMWC, present her with her Ring, but she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society. This is an exclusive organization that recognizes the top 35% of the nursing cohort. These being on the same day made it even more impactful, she said.
“It’s heavy — it’s a heavy feeling,” Mikayla said, looking at the new Ring on her finger. “I’ve waited for this so long. It’s a huge sense of accomplishment. Everything I’ve been doing is finally paying off.”
Michael Natt, a junior music major, agreed that actually having the Ring on his finger made all the difference — that and the down payment he put on it. It gave the tradition a new sense of realness for him, he said.
“Right now, it means a lot — more than it did before,” Natt said. “Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is such an amazing community, and having my family here was so amazing.”
The top of the Ring displays a deep black onyx and gold. On the rectangular onyx stone is carved an SMW emblem. Along its side of the gold is an oak leaf base, six acorns representing the college’s founders and the class year. The oak represents strength, knowledge and durability of character. With its distinctive design, only SMWC students and alumni have the privilege of wearing the Ring.
When one receives the Ring as an undergraduate, it is worn with the logo facing the heart to inspire and motivate continued academic achievement. Upon graduation, as new alumni move the tassel on their caps from left to right, Rings are turned so that the SMW faces outward. The Ring then becomes visible for the world to see the SMW and that you are forever connected to The Woods.