A Pin Restored, a Reunion to Remember 

At this year’s Alumni Reunion, Dean Lorraine Frazier surprised Sarah Becker, BS ’56, with a replacement for her Columbia Nursing graduation pin, which Becker had lost several years earlier. 

“I don’t know if it was misplaced, thrown out, or stolen, but I really missed my pin,” Becker said. “Somehow they found one with the same design as the original.” 

The unexpected pinning was one of the highlights of Becker’s return to campus for Alumni Reunion 2026. She was also impressed by a guided tour of the two-story, 16,000-square-foot Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center. “It was amazing,” said Becker, who traveled to her 70th reunion from her home in Florida with her daughter, Sabina Hardy.  

Mother and daughter also strolled through the Washington Heights neighborhood surrounding Columbia University Irving Medical Center.  Becker pointed out where her children had been born and told her daughter about living in Maxwell Hall, working on the wards, and the tunnel connecting Maxwell Hall to the hospital.  

The tunnel served a practical purpose, Becker explained, as nursing students were not permitted to go outside while wearing their uniforms.