Congratulations, Class of 2024!
You were meant to be here.
That message to the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Class of 2024鈥攄elivered at Commencement by a nurse scientist who studies health inequities in underrepresented populations鈥攚as a reminder for the graduates to persevere in the face of hardships and self-doubt.
鈥淵ou matter, and you have more to contribute than you may ever realize,鈥� said keynote speaker Bridgette Rice, the Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations at the Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing.
Rice, a first-generation college student who said she has struggled with imposter syndrome, told the 225 graduates that each of them brings unique skills to the nursing profession.
鈥淚 am confident that you chose this institution, and it chose you, to shape the future of nursing. You are able to engage with and leverage technology in ways that generations before you never dreamed of,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou will challenge the status quo and are constantly asking 鈥榳hy?鈥� with an eye toward shifting outdated paradigms and striving for efficiency. I trust that you will take what you鈥檝e learned here to work to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through justice, learning, and faith.鈥�
Erica Dixon-Johnson, who received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at the May 8 ceremony at Gentile Arena, spoke on behalf of the graduating class and shared what has become a mantra in her household: 鈥淚 can do hard things.鈥�
Her then-toddler son鈥檚 gymnastics coach introduced the phrase as he struggled to learn new skills, and Dixon-Johnson adopted it as she pursued her degree.
She said the willingness to pursue new and difficult tasks is foundational to a Loyola Nursing education.
鈥淭he five characteristics of a Jesuit education鈥攅xcellence, faith, service promoting justice, value-based leadership, and global awareness鈥攁re hard to do, yet each graduate was called to that promise,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ach of us answered that call. Hours of studying, developing assessment skills, providing patient care in clinicals, successfully completing comprehensive projects, DNP projects, and dissertations鈥攚e did hard things.鈥�
She added: 鈥淔rom undergraduate to graduate students, your presence here today is a testament to your ability and commitment to doing hard things and doing them well.鈥�
Celebrating a milestone
The Class of 2024 included the first cohort of graduates in Loyola Nursing鈥檚 CARE (Collaboration, Access, 草莓社区, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The program, launched in 2021 with a $2.2 million Health 草莓社区 and Services Administration grant, provides academic, financial, and socio-emotional support to students of color and is intended to boost the number of under-represented nurses within the predominantly white profession.
The School of Nursing marked the occasion with a celebration dinner attended by the CARE Pathway graduates, their families, 草莓社区 leadership, and faculty and staff.
Graduate Meseret Getachew described how the CARE Pathway, which started when she was a sophomore, provided funds that allowed her to stay at Loyola. The program helped her feel a sense of belonging within the School of Nursing and alleviate her feelings of imposter syndrome.
鈥淭he CARE Pathway program has changed my life and will hopefully continue to change other students鈥� lives as well,鈥� said Getachew, who will begin her career as a nurse at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children鈥檚 Hospital of Chicago.
The CARE Pathway was inspired by Arrupe College; two Loyola Nursing graduates in the Class of 2024 previously earned associate鈥檚 degrees from Arrupe.
CARE Pathway coordinator Janie Ortiz said the program 鈥渨as created from an idea that the nursing profession could do more for its patients and that health equity is achievable if we transform who is providing care. I am so proud that our CARE Pathway scholars will be at the forefront of this movement.鈥�