Annual Graduation Celebration ceremony recognizes 24 grads, students and faculty
Members of the UMass Medical School community came together online for the Graduate School of Nursing Graduation Celebration on the evening of Thursday, May 28. Warm congratulations and heartfelt appreciation for the GSN Class of 2020 resounded during the annual event, which features awards for graduates and scholarships for current students.
GSN Dean Joan Vitello presided over the awards ceremony, detailing why each of the 24 recipients were chosen. Dean Vitello selected Marta Escriu-Suñe, DNP, as the recipient of the Dean’s Award. Adam Bliss, DNP, was named the Chancellor’s Award recipient at Commencement on Sunday, May 31.
The scholarships first established in memory of GSN instructor Suzanne T. Sullivan have been renamed the Suzanne T. and John L. Sullivan Scholarship following her son’s recent passing. Sullivan scholarships were awarded to GSN students Emily Davenport and Steven Schmidt. Also newly renamed this year is the Janet Frazer Hale Academic Achievement and Leadership Award, which was presented to Nicole Parker, DNP.
Longtime faculty member Carol Jaffarian, MS, RN, ANP-BC, assistant professor of nursing, received the second annual Daisy Award. Dean Vitello said she is proud to have brought to UMass Medical School the interscholastic faculty award program for extraordinary nurses and nursing faculty. Daisy Awards are an initiative of the DAISY Foundation, established to support nursing education by the family of the late J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33, in honor of the nursing care he received in his final weeks of a terminal illness.
The GSN Community Partnership Award was presented to Michael Hirsh, MD, professor of surgery and pediatrics and assistant vice provost for wellness and health promotion, in honor of his public capacity as medical director of the Worcester Division of Public Health. The longstanding collaboration between the GSN and Worcester has been elevated to new heights during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 Graduate School of Nursing awards and recipients are:
Chancellor’s Award
Adam Bliss, DNP
GSN Dean’s Award
Marta Escriu-Suñe, DNP
Commencement Speaker
Joanne Lewis, PhD
Carol Bova Scholarship
Saisha Matias
Lillian R. Goodman Scholarship
Zareen Barry
Annie Vigeant Award
Kim Beaudry, DNP
Rebecca LaMay, DNP
Paulette Seymour Route Scholarship
Heather Briere
Suzanne T. & John L. Sullivan Scholarship
Emily Davenport
Steven Schmidt
Mary K Alexander Academic Achievement and Leadership Award
Catherine Whitaker, DNP
Janet Fraser Hale Academic Achievement and Leadership Award
Nicole Renee’ Parker, DNP
Mary Kinnear Raymond Award
Kathleen Schultz, DNP
Lynne Foster Davidson Scholarship
Catherine Pugnaire Jones
Lucie D. Russell Briefcase Awards
Family Nurse Practitioner: Adam Baskin, DNP
Adult/Gerontology-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner: Monica Mikael, DNP
Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner: Hajar Houmani, DNP
Outstanding Nurse Practitioner Student in Critical Care Award
Jessica Ferreira
Janet McCue Magner Award
Heather L. Patrick, DNP
GSN Interprofessional Community Service Award
Aisling Ryan
Haley Schachter
GSN Community Partnership Award
Michael Hirsh, MD
Nancy and Walter Kowal Scholarship
Clare Foley
Faculty Daisy Award
Carol Jaffarian, MS, RN, ANP-BC
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