9:30 a.m.
Mainstage, New York City Center
131 W 55th Street
442 graduates
Gathering before an auditorium brimming with family and friends, the College of Nursing’s class of 2013 prepared to take the first step into their professional lives at the New York City Center. As the first class to graduate since Hurricane Sandy, the significance of the disaster was a recurring theme throughout the ceremony. Nicole Piasio and Ashley Quick, student speakers for both the baccalaureate and masters programs, provided complementary perspectives on the professional career on which they and their classmates were about to embark. Piasio emphasized the importance of staying true to oneself, asking fellow graduates to never settle for anything. Meanwhile, Quick drew on her experience working with NYU Langone Medical Center doctors, nurses and New York City police department officers to emphasize the importance of teamwork in the nursing profession. The keynote speaker, retired Brig. Gen. Bill Bester, addressed graduates both as apprentices and as fellow professionals, reminding them to never forget the importance of family and friends as they climb the professional ladder. Finally, the ceremony drew to a solemn close with the traditional professional nursing pledge led by dean Eileen Sullivan-Marx as graduates and faculty members rose to affirm commitment to the tenets of the nursing profession.
-Hanqing Chen