Celebrating Columbia Nursing’s 2022 Graduates

On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Columbia Nursing community returned to the Armory for the first in-person graduation ceremony since the pandemic. The huge space rang with the cheers of family and friends as the soon-to-be graduates filed in and took their seats, and once again as each crossed the podium and officially received their degree.  

In her welcoming remarks, Dean Lorraine Frazier, PhD, said: "My hope is that you will continue to recognize and contribute to the growing prominence of our profession. That you will be empowered to share your voice. That you will exercise leadership, using the unprecedented platform that nursing now has—in whatever path you choose, in your communities, your institutions, your practices, and at all levels of government." 

Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University Irving Medical Center Katrina Armstrong, MD, accepted the Second Century Award for Excellence in Health Care, and paid tribute to nurses in her address. “In spite of historical adversity, you have completed your education and earned—in every sense of the word—the right to be called ‘nurse.’ You are healers, you are advocates, and today, we couldn’t be more proud to celebrate your graduation.” 

Rose Chapman Rodriguez, MS ’06, offered greetings on behalf of the Alumni Association. "In the years ahead, I hope you will foster and grow your connection with alumni, students, and faculty at one of the many programs, or volunteer opportunities organized by the school," she said. "All of our contributions help recruit and retain top notch students regardless of their ability to pay.  We must continue that legacy."

Student speaker Danny Burgos, MDE ’22, said: "What I see before me today is not a room full of nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse scientists ...What I see is fathers who took their kids to basketball practice while studying for a patho exam, mothers who burnt the midnight oil knowing full well that they were going to have to walk into their clinical exhausted, first-generation students who, despite immeasurable odds, made it to the patient bedside. What I see in this auditorium is resilience incarnate." 

Alumni of the classes of 2020 and 2021, who had virtual graduation ceremonies during the pandemic, were invited back to campus to celebrate together at a ceremony on the Morningside campus on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The Alumni Relations department then hosted a reception at the Nursing Building for this group of 2020 and 2021 nursing alumni.

View Graduation Ceremony Livestream

Graduation 2022 by the Numbers 

In the 2022 academic year, a total of 362 students will graduate from Columbia Nursing programs, including: 

• 6 PhD
• 132 DNP (18 Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP, 6 Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP, 52 Family NP, 7 Midwifery, 17 Pediatric Primary Care NP, 32 Psychiatric Mental Health NP)
• 224 MS (186 Master’s Direct Entry, 38 Nurse Anesthesia) 

Student Awards 

Several outstanding members of the Class of 2022 received honors for leadership, compassion, research, scholarship and more.  

Jessica Schwartz 

The Dissertation Excellence Award is presented by the faculty for distinguished doctoral student research.  

Margaret Elizabeth Treanor, Natalia Agnieska Zak 

The Anna C. Maxwell Award is 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 highest quality primary care. 

Ashley Z. Johnson, Catherine McQuade 

The Anne Penland Award is presented to an outstanding graduate of the nurse anesthesia or adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program who best demonstrates qualities of academic excellence, clinical proficiency, and empathy for patients. 

Danielle Wright 

The Mary Dickey Lindsay ’45 Award is given to a nurse midwifery graduate who best exemplifies leadership qualities that will promote midwifery diversity and access to midwifery care for all women.  

Samantha Nicole Levy 

The Mary Bleecker Simmons ’60 Award is presented to the graduate who demonstrates compassion and devotion to the mental health needs of patients. 

Jennifer Christine Werner 

The Faculty Award for Professional Excellence in a Subspecialty is given to a student who best exemplifies professional competence, capacity for leadership, and compassion for patients.  

Charlie Mae Aoun, Jarrett Thomas Murphy 

The Margaret Eliot Award is presented to a graduating nursing student who best demonstrates professional competence, capacity for leadership, and wholehearted compassion for patients.  

Betina Ross Saldua Idnay  

The Alpha Zeta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society for nursing, honors the graduating student who best exemplifies the principles of Sigma Theta Tau: leadership, scholarship, and community service. 

Alden Alexander Bush 

The Campbell Award is 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 trustee, and CAA co-founder.