The UConn School of Nursing (SoN) held its commencement ceremony at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts this past Saturday, May 10, 2025. The school celebrated 217 graduates with friends and families gathering from all over to congratulate their loved ones.

Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN, opened the ceremony with heartfelt remarks to the graduates.

“As UConn Nurses, advanced practice nurses, nurse educators, leaders and scientists, you are essential to the future of nursing and the future of healthcare,” Dickson said. “You are well-prepared to care for individuals, families and communities from diverse backgrounds in ways that alleviate suffering, promote health and optimize well-being.”

This year, the Honorary Degree Recipient was Dr. Joan Y. Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership at Harvard Medical School. Reede is a graduate of Brown University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and a fellowship in child psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital. She holds a master’s degree in public health, a master’s in health policy management from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MBA from Boston University.

“You’re all connected in your commitment to helping others, to using your gifts and talents, in the service of others,” said Reede. “Today, you embark on the next part of your journey, of finding your path, your calling, your ability to actualize and reenvision what is possible, and then to make that possible happen, not alone, but with others.”

The ceremony also included student speakers from each area of study: Sean Flaherty (bachelor’s graduate), John Sklepinski (master’s graduate), Nancy Dupont (DNP graduate), and Anne Reeder (Ph.D. graduate).

Flaherty reminded the graduates of what it took to get to where they are today with help from all of those around them.

“None of us got here alone. Today is a celebration not just of our accomplishments, but of the professors who challenged us, the preceptors who guided us, and the family and friends who supported us,” Flaherty said.

Reeder shared her journey as a student, nurse, wife, and mother. Passing on her wisdom as Ph.D. graduate, she imparted advice for her fellow 2025 graduates.

“As you enter the next phase of your nursing journey, be open to the rich possibilities this profession has to offer you. You never know when the right job, at the right time, is going to shift your world on its axis, change your career trajectory, and transform your life and the lives of others,” Reeder remarked.

Sklepinski and Dupont reflected on their UConn experience, telling everyone to never forget why they started this journey.

“To my fellow graduates: Let’s continue to be the eyes and the ears for our patients and stay committed in making healthcare better, safer, and more equitable,” Sklepinski said. “And never forget the courage it took to get to this moment.”

“This truly is an exciting time to be embarking on your nursing career. Achieving graduation means that you have earned one of the most treasured gifts one can have, being professionally and personally involved with those who need you at the most vulnerable and necessary times of their live,” said Dupont. “Please always remember in difficult and happy times that this is an honor and please keep that close to your heart.”

A Bachelor of Science was given to 110 students and there were four valedictorians: Katherine DeVito, Khadija Ibrahim, Luke Maynard, and Madison Sastram. The Regina M. Cusson Healthcare Innovations Award went to Amy Setesak. The Carolyn Ladd Widmer Undergraduate Leadership Award was presented to Molly Brett. The Clara Williams Holistic Nurse Award went to Abigail Schwartz, and the Sigma Theta Tau undergraduate honor was presented to Katherine DeVito.

Two students graduated with a Doctor in Philosophy degree (Ph.D.): Ashwag Saad Alhabodal and Anne Reeder. Reeder received the Carolyn Ladd Widmer Award for Outstanding Research and Sigma Theta Tau Ph.D. honor.

There were 19 Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (DNP) recipients. The Josephine Dolan Award for the Scholarship of Application went to Rachel Butler. The Sigma Theta Tau honor went to Bryan Frankovitch, and the Eleanor K. Gill Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice was presented to Catherine Reilly.

A Master’s of Science degree was given to 86 students. The degrees were divided into nine categories: Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (19), Adult/Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (9), Family Nurse Practitioner (14), Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (19), Post-Graduate Certificate NNP (2), Post-Graduate Certificate FNP (1), Post-Graduate Certificate AGACNP (5), Nursing Administration and Leadership (3), and Nurse Educator (14).

The Eleanor K. Gill Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice was presented to three master’s students: Kelly Ho (Primary Care), Abigail Davis (FNP), and Kimberly Davis (Acute Care). Melody LoPreiato received the Sigma Theta Tau Master’s honor.

Three faculty members also received awards. The E. Carol Polifroni Scholarship of Praxis Award went to Associate Clinical Professor Carrie Eaton, Ph.D., RNC-OB, C-EFM, CHSE. Dawn Sarage, MSN, RN, CNL, CMSRN, CHSE, a clinical instructor, received the John McNulty Excellence in the Scholarship of Clinical Education Award. Assistant Professor Christina Ross, Ph.D., RN, received the Regina M. Cusson Healthcare Innovations Award.

Lastly, three faculty members were presented with the Pellegrina (Peggy) Lacovella Stolfi Clinical Teaching Award: Joseph Fetta, Ph.D., RN, CNRN, Carla Plourde, MSN, RN, and Kara Parker, MSN, RN.

Congratulations to all award recipients, and an even bigger congratulations to the School of Nursing’s class of 2025. As Dickson said in her remarks “…take the spirit of inquiry that has brought you to us and fueled your academic success out into the world that trusts you and needs you. You are the future of health care, the future of Nursing! You are UConn Nurses!”

You may not be students any longer, but you are and always will be huskies forever!