Celebrating the Class of 2026
Friends, family, and faculty filled The Armory for Columbia Nursing’s graduation ceremony on May 19, 2026.
In her welcoming remarks, Dean Lorraine Frazier, PhD, said: “Not only do our nation and our world have a greater need than ever for the skills you’ve honed here at Columbia, but nursing is making headlines as a career of the future and a great investment in yourselves and your communities.”
Katrina Armstrong, MD, dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, addressed the graduates next. “Nurses are the health care professionals who make everything happen. You are at the bedside delivering comfort and care, and you are in our communities, educating and building trust with our patients. Your role—whether that of a clinical nurse, researcher, teacher, or leader—is the fundamental building block of everything we do as healers.”
Eric Horvitz, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer at Microsoft, accepted the Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care, presented since 1991 for excellence in advancing the health and well-being of all citizens. “In health care, intelligence is not just prediction. It is timing, context, coordination, relationships, and trust. It is knowing not only what a signal means, but who needs to know it, and what can actually be done. This is why nurses are central,” he said.
Jasmine Travers Altizer, PhD ’16, Dean's Associate Professor Chair for Research Acceleration at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, offered greetings on behalf of the Alumni Association. Sergine Delma, DNP ’26, was the Student Speaker.
“They said, ‘Just a nurse.’ As if that word—just—could ever hold the weight of what we carry,” Delma said. “Just a nurse who learned to listen before speaking, to notice the pause between heartbeats, to read the room before reading the chart. Just a nurse who stayed when others left, who mastered science and humanity at the same time.”
She concluded: “To the faculty and mentors: Thank you for holding us to high standards and reminding us that rigor and compassion can—and must—coexist. And to my fellow graduates, when someone says, “You’re just a nurse,” I hope you smile. We are not just anything. We are Columbia nurses. Built on nursing. Bound for anything.”
Student Awards
Zidu (Miranda) Xu, PhD ’25, received the Dissertation Excellence Award, presented by the faculty for distinguished doctoral student research.
Christina Franzese, DNP ’26, and Julia Marguerite Klein, DNP ’26, received the Anna C. Maxwell Award, presented to a graduate of the adult-gerontology, family, or pediatric primary care nurse practitioner program who exhibits compassion, competence, and commitment to the provision of the highest quality primary care.
Lizzet Carmona, DNP ’26, and Ermin Djokic, DNP ’26, received the Anne Penland Award, presented to an outstanding graduate of the nurse anesthesia or adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program who best demonstrates the qualities of academic excellence, clinical proficiency, and empathy for patients.
Marie Juliette Pluviose-Philip, DNP ’26, received the Mary Dickey Lindsay ’45 Award, given to a nurse midwifery graduate who best exemplifies leadership qualities that will promote midwifery diversity and access to midwifery care for all women.
Mariam Jamila Cisse, DNP ’26, received the Mary Bleecker Simmons ’60 Award, presented to the graduate who demonstrates compassion and devotion to the mental health needs of patients.
Adelina Ailarov, DNP ’26, received the Faculty Award for Professional Excellence in a Subspecialty, given to a student who best exemplifies professional competence, capacity for leadership, and compassion for patients.
Molly Moody, MS ’26, received the Mary Masterson Germain ’64 Award, presented to a graduate of the Advanced Clinical Management and Leadership Program who demonstrates academic excellence, capacity for leadership, and dedication to the highest possible care for patients and families.
Liz Burans, MS ’26, and Andrew Leung, MS ’26, received the Margaret Eliot Award, presented to a graduating nursing student who best demonstrates professional competence, capacity for leadership, and wholehearted compassion for patients.
Judith Jenevieve Thorpe, MS ’26, was honored by The Alpha Zeta Chapter of Sigma, the international honor society for nursing, as the graduating student who best exemplifies the principles of Sigma: leadership, scholarship, and community service.
Jocelyn Violetta, DNP ’26, received the Campbell Award, presented by the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) to a graduating student at each School who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by Bill Campbell, ’62CC, ’64TC, Chair Emeritus, University Trustees, and CAA co-founder.
