This longitudinal, qualitative study traced changes in nursing students' professional identity (PI) development from pre-college through college and examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their PI development. Adopting a developmental-contextual approach (Ford & Lerner, 1992), the study explored the PI development of ten final-year nursing students from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds enrolled in a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. From this perspective, PI emanates from the continuous interactions between the developing person (multidimensional) and the changing, multilevel context(s) over time. This approach called for a change-sensitive and diversity-sensitive longitudinal design to capture changes over time and within the individual. Participants' narratives revealed four distinct types of PI in nursing, each with its own developmental trajectory influenced by a multitude of factors. These trajectories reflected diverse perspectives on the nursing profession and the qualities desired in nurses. Throughout their BSN programs and clinical rotations, participants experienced increasing clarity and confidence in their roles, shaped by their evolving understanding of nursing through relevant experiences. The study highlights the importance of considering both personal characteristics and external influences, such as motivations and initial exposure to nursing, in understanding the development of PI. Additionally, the findings underscore the differential impact of the pandemic on nursing students' identities, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to studying PI development and its implications for nursing education and practice. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]