The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing honored its Master of Science in Nursing students during the school’s MSN Graduation Ceremony on Monday, December 14. Friends and alumni viewed the graduation online, celebrating the accomplishments of the graduating class of over 160 students.
The MSN Program offers nine Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) specialty tracks where students are educated for the full scope of practice. The ceremony was held via video conference in order to follow social distancing guidelines. The event featured dynamic class and faculty speakers and a brief awards presentation honoring students who demonstrated excellence in leadership, service, collaboration, innovation, and personal character. The student award winners are:
- Silver Bowl Award -- Ndinda Ngewa
- Award of Excellence -- Robert Calvert III
- Excellence in Collaboration -- Hailey Gatins and Amanda Poussard
- Excellence in Social Responsibility -- Bonny Jean Worland
- Excellence in Innovation -- Marisa Gallegos
- Excellence in Leadership -- Charmaine Parubrub Stotler
Student-nominated awards were also given to faculty on behalf of the Emory Student Nurses Association. These awards, known as the “Heart of the Students” awards, are given each year to staff and faculty who go above and beyond in their teaching and mentoring. This semester's Heart of the Students staff award was presented to Kandice Pampuri, MSN Program Administrator. The Heart of the Students faculty award was presented to Dr. Desiree Clement, DNP, APRN, CNM, FNP-BC, FACNM, Director, Family Nurse Practitioner program and Assistant Professor.
Student speaker Charmaine Parubrub Stotler spoke on joys and achievements of her class, highlighting the unique challenges they’ve faced and thanking the faculty, staff and family members that helped the class reach graduation day.
“This ceremony is virtual, but your accomplishments are very real,” said Parubrub. “Today, we’ve reached a monumental milestone. It is a time for celebration.”
In the ceremony’s closing remarks, student speaker Dan Cox reflected on the importance of presence in good care and encouraged his peers to focus on the humanity of the nursing profession.
“Our job is not only about medicine or healthcare,” said Cox. “It is about people. We work to prevent illness and promote health because of the incredible value that people have. Never forget that. You will be honored to guide your patients out of a place of fear.”
To view the full ceremony, visit our ceremony archives page, where you can find full recordings of each 2020 ceremony.