On Tuesday, August 5, 58 pre-licensure and 29 RN-BS graduates from the University of Utah College of Nursing were celebrated during the summer graduation ceremony at the Union Ballroom. As faculty and administrators celebrated the accomplishments of the college’s newest graduates, students shared messages of achievement and hope as they enter the nursing profession and advance in their careers.
Read experts from ceremony’s featured speakers below:
“You will be front and center as health care continues to evolve in dramatic and exciting ways. While these advancements offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance health care delivery and patient outcomes, technology and algorithms cannot replace the essence of nursing – providing compassionate, empathetic care guided by a deep understanding of human needs during patients’ most critical moments.”
—Dean Marla De Jong, PhD, RN, CCNS, FAAN
“I will be forever grateful for this opportunity. The opportunity to meet all of you, students and professors. We wouldn’t be in this position today if it weren’t for the support systems we have. So, with this I invite you to look around you, look at all the faces that helped you get here. Most important, look at your own two feet, for getting you here. Be proud of yourself. Never forget the sacrifices you made to be here.”
— Robby Erhardt, BS Nursing
“As a nurse you have a unique opportunity to witness the depth of human joy and sorrow and to do your part to help us all through it. Few jobs provide such satisfaction and that may be why we do what we do; I believe we do it because we care, because we have compassion for humanity. We want to make the world a better place and through nursing you have, and you will continue to do so. Carry compassion with you as you enter the next chapter of your journey. Congratulations! Thank you for your service to humanity. Thank you for being a nurse.” — William Hull, PhD, Assistant Professor (Clinical)
