Yale School of Nursing Celebrates 80th Commencement
New Haven, CT — May 23, 2006
One hundred and eight students and their families joined YSN faculty, staff and alumnae/i at the School's 80th Commencement. The ceremony took place on May 22, 2006 at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. The graduating class was comprised of ninety-eight master's degree recipients, two post-master's certificate recipients and nine doctoral degree recipients. Dean Margaret Grey presided over the ceremony which included a keynote address by Patricia Butterfield, PhD, RN, FAAN, renowned expert on the effects of occupational and environmental exposures on the public's health. Dr. Butterfield's talk was titled, "Activism and Audacity in an Uncertain World: Lessons from Yale and Beyond."
Dr. Butterfield concluded her talk with a call to action: "You are the very best of what our profession has to give. We are living in an uncertain time and we need your talents, insights, and new ideas unleashed. I ask you today to act with an unguarded heart on behalf of our nation and our planet. Congratulations and welcome to the struggle."
The student address was delivered by Nicole Langan, MSN '06. The Annie Goodrich Award for Excellence in Teaching was presented to Dr. Jane Karpe Dixon. A student advocate and mentor, Dr. Dixon's teaching and research have influenced the professional development of countless students. Her patience and nonjudgmental style has allowed students to thrive in their academic careers," said Elizabeth Ercolano, DNSc '06, who presented the award. The Staff Appreciation Award was presented to Keith Wilkinson from YSN IT Services.
Dean Grey recognized Sarah Long, MSN '06 who had received the YSN Community Service Award earlier in the year for her numerous volunteer activities including her work at the HAVEN Free Clinic in New Haven.
Katherine Watkins, MSN '06 received the Connecticut Holistic Health Association Prize. Conceived to recognize scholarly endeavors that use a holistic view, the Prize is awarded to a deserving student demonstrating academic excellence in a holistically oriented research or clinical project of significant social relevance. Before coming to Yale, Katherine worked as a nurse on a Native American reservation where she observed that many of the children were overweight or obese. She also found that conventional approaches to achieving and maintaining healthy weight emphasized autonomy, individual health and personal fitness, which did not seem to make sense for children and families who were Native American. For her paper, she reviewed and analyzed the literature on obesity, health promotion and trans-cultural nursing. Among her conclusions were that attention to key Native American cultural ideals, including tradition, respect, connection, trust and spirituality, and use of the Native American oral tradition of storytelling could be ways to promote healthy weight for Native Americans.
The Charles King, Jr. Memorial Scholars Aid Prize was presented to Elizabeth DePrince Smith, MSN '06. The Prize is given annually at Commencement to the graduating student who has demonstrated outstanding performance in scholarship, research and clinical practice and who, through accomplishments in and leadership of all aspects of study, has inspired an admiration for professional work. "The winner of this year's prize is a top student, clinician and leader," said Dean Grey. "She came to Yale with a history of academic success, rich cultural and employment experience, and volunteer work. She simply added nursing to this abundant background and nursing is changed for the better." In addition to serving children and families in the Greater New Haven community through her work with Halloween safety, smoking education, and HIV prevention, Elizabeth's dedication to the care of underserved children was demonstrated in Oaxaca, Mexico when she and a classmate created a public health project that produced an easy to read book on basic preventive health care for children. "This work foreshadows her potential to be a true leader in nursing and public health in underserved areas both locally and around the globe," said Dean Grey.
The Milton and Anne Sidney Prize was presented to Amanda Swan, MSN '06 (featured above in photo with Stuart Jay Sidney, son of Milton and Anne Sidney, for whom the prize is named). The Prize is given to a graduating stu-dent whose research praxis, in the judgment of the faculty, best exemplifies the School's commitment to clinical research and its mission to contribute to better health care for people through systematic study of the nature and effect of nursing practice.
Amanda Swan has pursued an interest in HIV prevention and treatment through work in specialty clinics and prisons. "Half of all new HIV infections occur in those under 25, mostly contracted through unprotected sex," according to Amanda. "Contraception and condom use among teens is spotty at best and there are indications that HIV infected teens have similarly inconsistent use patterns. Despite the public health implications, the literature on reproductive needs of HIV infected youth is sparse." Amanda's praxis offers needed clinical and policy considerations in this neglected area. She concludes that while contraception education for teens currently emphasizes hormonal control with condom back-up that more emphasis should be given to condom use for both HIV positive teens and non-infected teens. "This praxis simultaneously guides clinicians in the counseling of HIV infected teenagers in the difficult but essential area of safe sexual activity while simultaneously offering a model for contraceptive counseling of all populations," said Dean Grey.
The Anthony Di Guida/ Delta Mu Prize was presented to Marie Bakitas, DNSc '06. The Prize is given to a graduating doctoral student who exemplifies the love of scholarship and the joy in learning that Anthony Di Guida, who would have been in the second graduating class of doctoral students, embodied. The YSN chapter of nursing's honor society, Sigma Theta Tau, has joined in this award to recognize the exercise of scholarship that is the doctoral dissertation. Marie's dissertation, titled "Background Noise in Everyday Life with Cancer," describes how patients cope with the symptoms of cancer. "The findings of this dissertation will have a significant impact on our understanding of how cancer treatment affects a patient's ability to function," said Dean Grey.
A reception at the Omni Hotel in New Haven followed the Commencement Ceremony. The faculty, staff and alumnae/i of the Yale School of Nursing congratulate the graduating class of 2006 and their families!
