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Graduate School of Nursing Class of 2020 achievements honored

Annual Graduation Celebration ceremony recognizes 24 grads, students and faculty

 
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Dean Vitello presented Marta Escriu-Suñe with the Dean’s Award in an online ceremony.

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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UMMS Graduate School of Nursing awards 47 degrees and post-graduate certificates at Commencement 2020
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