GW Nursing students traveled to Washington, D.C. from across the country this weekend to participate in the school’s largest-ever graduation and commencement festivities. Decked out in regalia, about 240 students and the school’s faculty gathered Saturday morning at GW’s Lisner Auditorium for the BSN pinning, doctoral hooding and schoolwide graduation celebration.
Dr. Beverly Malone, the CEO of the National League for Nursing and one of the world’s most influential nursing voices, in her keynote address encouraged GW Nursing graduates to step into greatness, and to continue to live with a passion for learning.
“A vision without action is nothing but a hallucination,” Dr. Malone said. “Use every minute of your day.”
Over Dr. Malone’s exceptional career, she has represented hundreds of thousands of American nurses as president of the American Nurses Association and served on President Bill Clinton’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry. She later worked as a deputy assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Malone’s experience complements well the emphasis GW Nursing places on health policy tin both its undergraduate and graduate programs.
Student award recipients recognized during this ceremony include:
- DNP graduate Sara Saghir, who won the Alumni Association Prize
- MSN graduate LaToya McCurdy, who was honored for community service
- BSN graduate Jessica Blakey, who was honored for research
MSN graduate Mary Ann Harmon served as student speaker.
On Sunday, about 140 GW Nursing students joined their peers from the other nine GW school at the National Mall for the university's Commencement ceremony — the only graduation held on the mall.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a GW alumna, delivered Sunday’s Commencement address. She told students the world needed them to “step into the arena,” a reference to President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech about “daring greatly.”
Sen. Duckworth advised the assembled graduates to "Get involved, not discouraged" in order to make a difference in the world.
For more photos from the events, visit GW Nursing's Facebook page.