USU Graduate School of Nursing Holds 11 Commencement Ceremonies

MD, UNITED STATES

05.19.2021

Story by Ian Neligh 

Uniformed Services University

Large crowds and sitting together for prolonged periods of time are, at least for the moment, a thing of the past.

Faced with the daunting challenge of holding graduation under COVID-19 restrictions, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing split this year’s event into multiple remote ceremonies held at locations across the country.

In this way, the school lowered the danger of infection, while allowing students to celebrate their achievements with friends and family.

“Given the constraints of COVID, the faculty and staff worked hard to create a meaningful graduation experience for students and their families,” said Graduate School of Nursing Dean and Professor Carol A. Romano, Ph.D.

The school divided its traditional graduation ceremony into 11 unique events. Last year’s graduation was held remotely out of necessity. This year’s ceremonies, which included 70 students, occurred the week of May 3 and included locations such as Colorado Springs, Colo., San Diego, Calif., Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and Fort Bragg, N.C.

“We are proud of all of our graduates and of the opportunity for them to celebrate in person the commencement of their new advanced military nursing roles,” Romano said. “The 11 remote graduations at the students’ clinical site provided an appropriate means for families to participate and to address one of the pandemic challenges.”

Commandant and Student Affairs Dean Army Col. Craig Budinich, Ph.D., said the school came upon the idea of splitting up the graduations several months back when he sent out a survey to the students to get a feel for their graduation priorities.

“When it was all said and done, the students, by a supermajority, desired to have their families present,” Budinich said, adding the only way that could be made to happen was to have site-specific events.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, professor Diane Seibert, DNP, said it made little sense to have the students show up to campus for graduation, since they wouldn’t be able to bring their families. However, she stressed the importance of having future graduations on campus.
“There are many reasons for people to come together for an in-person, on-campus graduation: to celebrate this milestone together, and to be ‘seen’. If the GSN holds graduations remotely every year, people might forget that the Graduate School of Nursing exists,” Seibert said. “So it is not in our best interests, long term, to always be missing from the ceremony.”

Seibert said celebrating graduation in a big way, such as sitting in the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, listening to the Marine Corps Band, and enjoying the colors and pageantry of a military graduation, as was done prior to the pandemic, is a wonderful way to celebrate years of hard work.

This year, hosting separate graduation events was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate in person, but with smaller groups. “We hope that something approaching normal will happen next year.”

Seibert said there were a lot of logistics needed to make it happen, but said it was fun being able to commemorate with the students and their families.

“I must say that the GSN leadership worked very well with clinical site directors and the Services to ensure a good product,” Budinich added. “The ceremonies were first-class and intimate, a testimony to the resilience and adaptability of the GSN faculty, staff, and students.”

• Date Taken: 05.19.2021
• Date Posted: 05.19.2021 07:02
• Story ID: 396807
• Location: MD, US