{"id":239491,"date":"2025-12-29T16:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T21:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=239491"},"modified":"2025-12-29T13:00:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T18:00:04","slug":"elisabeth-deluca-school-of-nursing-celebrates-its-december-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/12\/elisabeth-deluca-school-of-nursing-celebrates-its-december-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing Celebrates Its December Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A graduate at the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN commencement ceremony on December 16. (Defining Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts was filled with family, friends, and supporters of this year\u2019s Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/Certificate of Entry into Nursing (CEIN) graduating class on Tuesday, Dec. 16.<\/p>\n

The program is designed for students who hold a bachelor\u2019s degree in another field and are interested in pursuing a career in nursing. It is a rigorous one-year accelerated program\u2014the longest-running of its kind in the state\u2014that provides a pathway for students of all ages to join the nursing profession.<\/p>\n

Achieving this feat in such\u00a0a short time\u00a0frame requires an enormous level of dedication, persistence, and strength. The Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN commencement brings together family, friends, faculty, staff, and students to celebrate this remarkable accomplishment.<\/p>\n

In keeping with tradition, the ceremony began with a greeting from Del Siegle, Ph.D., MS, BS, university marshal, who serves as the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development.<\/p>\n

The Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing\u2019s Dean, Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN, led the processional welcome and introduced Cheryl Ficara, RN, MS, NEA-BC, this year\u2019s commencement\u00a0speaker\u00a0and recipient of the Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award.<\/p>\n

The Pellegrina (Peggy)\u00a0Lacovella\u00a0Stolfi Clinical Teaching Awards were presented to Kristie Bowdy, MSN, RN (Fundamentals\/Health Assessment instructor); Sherene Fagon, MSN, RN, C-EFM (Population-Based instructor); and Denise Morris, MSN, CMSRN (Community Health instructor).<\/p>\n

The CCNW Peer Leader Awards were presented to one graduate from each campus: Jennefer Park (Avery Point),\u00a0Gallerie\u00a0Quezada (Stamford), Ashley Ware (Storrs), and Jillian Barbarito (Waterbury). Each recipient\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0a clear commitment to the nursing profession through their values, philosophy, and actions.<\/p>\n

\"A
A graduate of the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN program getting pinned at commencement. (Defining Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The candidates were presented by Elizabeth Mayerson, DNP, FNP-BC, CNE, director of the Prelicensure Programs and president of the Sigma Theta Tau Mu Chapter, the School\u2019s honor society.\u00a0Graduates received their nursing pins, a tradition that may be performed by a fellow nurse who may be a significant person in a graduate\u2019s life. The history of the nursing pin\u00a0dates back to\u00a0the 1860s, when Florence Nightingale recognized nurses for their courageous service.<\/p>\n

More than 60 CEIN students in this class had previously been inducted into the international honor society, a distinction recognizing exceptional scholarship and leadership, and were acknowledged during the ceremony. Five students were also recognized for their veteran or active-duty service, and students with a 4.0 GPA received recognition for excellence in academic achievement. After the conferral of degrees by Senior Vice Provost for Health Sciences and Interdisciplinary Initiatives Amy Gorin, Ph.D., the UConn Nursing PRAXIS pledge was led by Diana Filipek-Oberg, president of the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing Alumni Board.<\/p>\n

\"Graduates
Graduates at the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN commencement ceremony on December 16. (Defining Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dean Dickson concluded the ceremony with closing remarks.\u00a0\u201cAs UConn nurses, you are essential to the future of nursing and the future of health care. You are well prepared to care for individuals, families, and communities from diverse backgrounds in ways that alleviate suffering, promote health, and\u00a0optimize\u00a0well-being,\u201d Dean Dickson said. \u201cAs you transition from nursing student to professional nurse, always remember that you are UConn nurses\u2014our best and our brightest\u2014and that we will always be proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing congratulates the Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN Class of 2025 and the recipients of this year\u2019s awards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To learn more about our Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/CEIN program visit Home | Accelerated Second-Degree CEIN\/BS Program<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing graduated its Accelerated Second-Degree BS\/Certificate of Entry into Nursing (CEIN) Class of 2025. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":229,"featured_media":239554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1877],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2655],"class_list":["post-239491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nur"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-04 05:50:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/229"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239491"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239604,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239491\/revisions\/239604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/239554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239491"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=239491"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=239491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}