Classes of 2020 and 2021 honored with three days of Commencement ceremonies
An unusual academic year required an unusual Commencement.
In the last three semesters, the Mount community rose to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a necessary switch to online courses in March of 2020, students saw the return of face-to-face learning in the fall. Together, we did our best to keep friends, coworkers, and professors safe by adhering to proper safety guidelines.
Thanks to their hard work, graduating seniors enjoyed an in-person Commencement with a reduced, but very enthusiastic, crowd.
The Class of 2021 – which includes more than 500 graduates – was recognized over the course of two ceremonies. On Friday, May 21, Nursing students were honored, and on Saturday, May 22, all other majors walked across the Commencement stage.
The graduating students hailed from eight states: California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.
The Friday Nursing ceremony also included dozens of Class of 2020 Nursing graduates. And on Sunday, May 23, the other 2020 grads finally enjoyed a live Commencement, in addition to the virtual graduation they celebrated last year.
After years of acting as Master of Ceremonies at the Mount's Commencement celebrations, James Finn Cotter, the college's longest serving professor, retired in 2020. For the Nursing graduation, the honor was bestowed upon Christine Berté, chair of the School of Nursing and director of Graduate Nursing Programs. For the other two ceremonies, George Abaunza, vice president for Academic Affairs, took the helm.
The Friday ceremony was presided over by Michael Horodyski, chair of the Board of Trustees of the college. The Saturday ceremony was presided over by Anthony Liotti, vice chair of the Board of Trustees. The Sunday ceremony was presided over by Charles Frank, former chair of the Board of Trustees.
The invocations were given by Fr. Gregoire Fluet, college chaplain and director of Campus Ministry. Fr. Fluet had two joyous occasions that weekend, as he was celebrating both Commencement and his 39th year of priesthood.
Honoring the next generation of nurses
At the college's first-ever combined Nurse Pinning, White Coat ceremony, and graduation ceremony, the Nursing Classes of 2020 and 2021 were recognized for their excellent work and dedication.
Dr. Jason N. Adsit, president of the college, discussed how nurses saved the life of his young son, Ronan, who spent six weeks in the neonatal unit.
"It was the nurses who sat with me every night, prayed with me, and cried with me as I held his little hand," he said. "The nurses were the ones who figured out what was wrong. That little boy turns 10 in October. Your work matters. Don't ever forget that."
Keynote speaker Susan LaRocco, dean of the School of Nursing, reminded the graduates that patients deserve the best care a nurse can give.
"Compassionate care is a core value we have, whether as the primary care provider or as a staff nurse," said LaRocco. "Treat everyone as they would want to be treated. Be sensitive to the cultural and religious differences of your patients, and provide the care that they want and that they need."
As the Nursing graduates approached the Commencement stage, their guests came with them. Before receiving their diploma from Dr. Adsit, the students were pinned by their family and friends. The Nursing pin represents "a new facet in the personal and professional lives of these graduating students," said Berté. It symbolizes "their rite of passage into the professional world of nursing."
Graduates who earned a master's degree or post-master's certificate received their white coat from their loved ones. The white coat represents a graduate's knowledge and dedication to the medical profession.
Berté thanked these newly-coated professionals, who have been on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19 for more than a year.
"These are the RNs that were taking care of patients in ICUs, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare areas during this challenging time," she said. "While they were doing this, they had the perseverance to continue their education...Mount Saint Mary College wishes to acknowledge you and thank you for your efforts and congratulate you on this academic achievement in a time that truly challenged our profession."
Nursing awards
The School of Nursing honored several students for excellence in their studies and dedication to the field:
School of Nursing Leadership Award: Sean Leuschner
School of Nursing Clinical Excellence Award: Annette Martinez
Perseverance Award: Stephanie Cataldo
General Excellence in Nursing Award: Kelly Giana
Spirit of Nursing Award: Toni Ann DeRose
School of Nursing Leadership Award: Sydney Natkiel
Mu Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta International Nursing Honor Society Award: Emily Dee (May 2021), Benjamin Hayes (December 2020), and Nicole Gray (May 2020)
Sister Leona DeBoer Award: Sadhana Subramanian (May 2021); Benjamin Hayes (December 2020); Ann Murray (May 2020)
Leuschner, School of Nursing Leadership Award recipient, earned a whopping four job offers in critical care before his last semester ended. Ultimately, Leuschner picked a job with Hartford Hospital, a 938-bed acute care teaching hospital located in Hartford, Conn. in the Level I Neuro/Trauma Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He started in early August. " I am very excited to work for a company with such an excellent track record," he explained.
Edward Arnold of Southampton, Student Government Association president, (above) congratulated his fellow seniors.
Sending off the Class of 2021
From Business to Education, the remaining members of the Class of 2021 and their families proudly took to the Dominican Center Field on Saturday, May 22 for their Commencement ceremony.
"You have lived through a world-wide historical event," said Dr. Adsit. "This [pandemic] is something people will be reading about hundreds of years from now. And you did it with grace, and grit, and determination."
Jake Kosack '18, a member of the Board of Trustees, encouraged the students to take what they have learned here and use it to make the world a better place.
Commencement "is always misunderstood as an ending, and although this scene is ending, the film is just getting started," Kosack said. "Your life is a movie and you're the lead. It is up to you to go out there and win Best Picture."
Edward Arnold, president of the Mount's Student Government Association (SGA), challenged his fellow graduates to continuously improve themselves.
"Our commitment to service, leadership, and determination is what brings us here together as one: Mount Saint Mary College graduates, Class of 2021," Arnold said. "The relationships we have not only with one another, but with our faculty and staff, will last forever. Use them to your advantage, grab life by the horns, and begin this journey with no fear."
From left: Andre Waitley; Tottiona Waitley of Ellenville, a Sociology major and 2020 graduate; and Dana Williams.
Class of 2020: A celebration months in the making
Like the rest of the world, the Class of 2020 was blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic. But one year later, they finally enjoyed a much-deserved in-person Commencement ceremony.
For Alexandra Smith, a History major who was on the Childhood and Special Education tracks, the decision to return to her alma mater for graduation was an easy one.
"My experience at the Mount has been so amazing," Smith said. "Between my professors and my peers, my years here were truly the best...The Mount was a second home for me."
After graduating last year, Smith quickly obtained a job as a third-grade teacher in the Warwick Valley Central School District.
"It's been great to step out of school and hop right into my profession," she explained. "It's been quite the year, but we've been doing our best and adapting to all the COVID changes. Teaching is still the best job I could have ever had."
Like Smith, Emma Sweeney was a History major who was on the Childhood and Special Education tracks. Sweeney has also found a full-time job in her field: she is teaching in a kindergarten class at Horizons on the Hudson in Newburgh, N.Y. On returning for graduation, she said, "I'm glad we had a chance to close out this chapter of our lives and walk across the stage."
Their classmate, Sociology major Tottiona Waitley, is currently mentoring at-risk youth at Ellenville High School. She credited her advisor, Kate Burmon, assistant professor of Criminology, with helping her to be successful.
Alexander Perlak, Senior Class President of the Class of 2020, addressed his fellow graduates at the ceremony. He said that it is often through adversity – such as the pandemic – that people grow the most.
"We have all overcome challenges to get to the point we are today, [and] it's not always about the challenge – more importantly, it's how we overcome it," said Perlak. "It may not have gone how we expected it to, but this is an achievement that we all did together...after this ceremony, we can all say we are Mount Saint Mary College graduates who finally walked the stage."
Sharing Commencement stage with family
As students graduated with their second family of peers and professors, some had the unique opportunity of walking the Commencement stage alongside their relatives as well.
Jenna Park, a teacher at George F. Baker Upper School in Tuxedo, N.Y., graduated in 2020 with her MSEd in Special Education. She was presented with her diploma on stage by none other than her mother, Tiffany Gagliano, dean of the School of Business.
Being handed her diploma by her mother was "The most incredible feeling...It's absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity I'll never forget," Park said. "My mom has always encouraged me to pursue a degree in education because she understands my love for teaching and helping others."
Brianna Mercado was finally able to attend graduation on Saturday, May 22, after receiving her BA in Public Relations with a concentration in Journalism in December of 2019. Her mother, Jenine Mercado, graduated alongside her with an MSEd in Adolescence and Special Education as a 2021 graduate.
"Graduating with my mom was such a surreal feeling," Brianna explained. "My mom has supported me throughout my entire college career and to have her walk across the stage with me and her see me receive my diploma is truly something special."
Lanisha Outlaw graduated with her BA in Nursing on Friday, May 21 as a 2021 graduate in the Nursing Commencement ceremony. Her daughter's graduation from a different institution was on the same day, but "she opted to forgo her graduation to be here," Outlaw explained. "It's a very monumental moment for both my daughter and I to be able to...walk that stage together."
Celebrating the Class of 2021 with a blessing and a toast
A few weeks before graduation, members of the Class of 2021 gathered at the Chapel of the Most Holy Rosary for a Mass and a toast to the Mount.
Fr. Gregoire Fluet, chaplain and director of Campus Ministry, celebrated the special Mass for Mount seniors.
During his homily, Fr. Fluet encouraged the seniors to keep service close to their hearts: "No greater joy can come than to give of yourself to others," he said.
He then offered a general blessing for non-Nursing students and a hand blessing for the Nursing students, since their hands are "the most important healing tool a nurse has."