One Chapter Closes, Another Opens

Sean Hennessey

Date

May 11, 2023

Topics

Student Life

IHP graduates proud of their achievements, excited about the future

Cheers, tears, laughter and relief – just some of the emotions cascading from the Recessional Tunnel as IHP graduates made their way past faculty and Institute leaders today, signifying the official end of the Institute’s 43rd Commencement ceremonies and for most, the final stop of their IHP educational journey.

“I think it's really exciting to finally get out into the workforce,” said Nathan Xu, who graduated with his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and will work at an assisted living center in Cleveland. “I feel like we spent our entire education talking about patient-centered care and it's very exciting to finally get to a point where we can actually work with patients and treat them to the best of our abilities.”

Xu and fellow doctoral student Andrew Marzan began their program just two months after the pandemic began, and fittingly graduated on the day the country lifted the Covid-19 public health emergency.

“Our program initially started online, which is which was wildly different from the cohort after us,” said Marzan. “They all got to socialize immediately off the bat versus our first day of class which was seeing everybody on computer screens with Zoom."

Three years later, Marzan has a degree and a job at Brigham and Women’s hospital as an inpatient therapist.

"Just feeling it all at once,” said Marzan. “It's kind of hard to put into words, but overall, I’m really excited.”

He was far from alone. On this day, nearly 600 graduates felt the same – excitement about the future, pride about their accomplishments at the IHP.

brianna smiles in front of a blue curtain she wears a black graduation cap and gown — Brianna Vaa Stelling, MS-HPEd

the two men stand in their academic regalia — Nathan Xu, DPT and Andrew Marzan, DPT

the women stand together smiling in a hallway wearing black graduation caps and gowns — Louisa Melchionno, MS-SLP and Molly Maloney, MS-SLP

jessica has curly black hair and holds a blue folio. she wears a black graduation cap and gown and green, gold and red striped regalia scarf — Jessica Asante, MS-GC

lyn wears a black cap and gown and a red and blue scarf — Lyn Belizaire, ABSN

matt has blue eyes and a light brown mustache he wears a black graduation cap and gown — Matthew Drummond, ABSN

two women wear black graduation caps and gowns, both have shoulder length brown blonde hair — Caitlin Beranger and Gretchen Wasner, ABSN

faculty in colorful graduation regalia clap as people wearing black caps and gowns walk in a line — School of Nursing graduates triumphantly pass through the Recession Tunnel following Commencement. An IHP tradition, the tunnel is made up of faculty and IHP leaders who line both sides of the aisle.

“It's been a long time coming,” said Molly Maloney, who will officially graduate with a masters in Speech Language Pathology in September but walked today. “We put in so much hard work and effort. A lot of studying, a lot of clinical hours.”

Louisa Melchionno, another Speech Language Pathology graduate who walked today but will also receive her degree in September, shares this sentiment. “I feel like it's been a long time coming. I've had a really good experience so far here and I'm just really excited to graduate.”

For Brianna Vaa Stelling, the day marked the beginning of a new chapter in her medical career. A physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Vaa Stelling utilized the online format of the Health Professions Education program to earn a master’s degree while raising a family.

“My hope is that by understanding more of the science of education, I can use my skills to better educate the next generation of physicians,” said Vaa Stelling, who completed the program in four years. “My hope is that I'll be able to hold more leadership positions and in turn, make a greater impact on the education of the next generation of physicians.”

This next generation includes Jessica Asante, who earned her master’s in genetic counseling which she’ll utilize at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, where she currently works.

“I'm really happy and filled with joy and pride,” said Asante. “I'm a little sad because it's over, but I'm also just extremely happy. It's hard to describe such a strong feeling.”

Strong feelings that permeated throughout the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center, which housed two IHP graduation ceremonies: the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and School of Healthcare Leadership in the morning, followed by the School of Nursing in the afternoon.

“I'm really excited - It went quickly, but it still felt like a long 16 months,” said Lyn Belizaire, who graduated today from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. “I'm happy that it's over and that I can now advance in the field and use my education.”

Gretchen Wasner completed the ABSN program and is in the final interview stages with Children’s Hospital, hoping for a job in the operating room. She says the IHP experience prepared her well.

“The support is what I will remember most,” said Wasner. “I learned so much from not only my professors but also my peers and being able to learn these skills in the best hospitals in the world was pretty amazing.”

Fellow ABSN graduate Caitlyn Beranger agrees.

“I'll remember my professors were just amazing here,” said Beranger, who will be a pediatric nurse at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. “All the clinical experiences were great as well - I saw so much that I know is going to help me.”

For Matthew Drummond, today’s graduation was the next step to joining the family business. His grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, uncle and a host of cousins are all nurses.

“It's very nice to be joining a great profession, “said Drummond, who earned his ABSN degree today. “I'm very excited to start working in the hospital. I love caring for patients. The program has really prepared us well - through the labs, the compassion of our professors, and all of the clinical coordinators that have worked with us throughout the entire program.”

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