Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduated its tenth class with a pinning ceremony and commencement exercises in May. 53 students were pinned and graduated this year.
The pinning ceremony took place on Friday evening, May 17, at Kings Catering & Party House. The commencement ceremony, held at The Smith, took place in the afternoon on May 19. Photos from both events can be viewed on Flickr.
Patrick Boyle, VP, Finger Lakes Health and Board Chair, Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing & Health Sciences, welcomed students to the commencement ceremony and recognized the faculty for a job well done. Dr. Jose Acevedo, President & CEO of Finger Lakes Health and President, Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing & Health Sciences, gave the President’s Address and Dr. Susan Carlson DNP, NPP, RN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC, Dean of the College gave the Dean’s Address. Ardelle Bigos, C-MSRN, NE-BC, Vice President, Nursing gave the keynote address and class president, Chittadaphone Phouthavong, gave the class address.
Dr. Acevedo and Dr. Carlson presented the degrees.
Kathleen Mills along with the class advisors Martha DiCicco and Justine Perovich handed out special awards. The Academic Achievement Award is an award is given to the graduate with the highest GPA . This year’s recipient was Nikki LoBello.
Claudia Coleates received the Clinical Practice Award, given for outstanding service in medical surgical nursing.
Stacie Warren received the Geriatric Practice Award, which is given to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding nursing care to the geriatric population.
The Patricia Schillaci Memorial Award is given to honor Patty Schillaci a nurse at Geneva General Hospital who committed to using technology to enhance patient care delivery. This award, recognizing a student who demonstrated the ability to couple technology with caring compassionate nurse’s care, was presented to Haylie Karlsen.
Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing & Health Sciences Class Choice Award is by class vote, given to the graduate nurse who has demonstrated principles of relationship based care through creating healthy relationships. This year’s class chose Chittadaphone Phouthavong, to receive the award.
The Outstanding Student Achievement Award, an award given to a student who has demonstrated consistent commitment and growth in the academic and clinical setting, was awarded to Shantel Griffin.
The Heart of Nursing Award, given to the graduate who has consistently shown enthusiasm for nursing throughout the program, was awarded to Margaret McPeak.
The Florence Nightingale Award is given to the graduate nurse who demonstrates a sprit it improve the healthcare environment. This year’s recipients was Tamara Lehman.
The Emily Carson Memorial Award, is given in memory of Emily, a 2010 graduate who was an extraordinary nurse, a loving mother, daughter and sister and an unwavering patient advocate. Emily had such a powerful connection to people in our organization and within the community because of her great spirit, warm sense of humor, dedication to the nursing profession and the compassion she displayed for her patients. Alice Radcliff was honored with this award.
The Aubrey DeMillo Memorial Award is given in honor of Aubrey, a member of the Class of 2013. This award is given to a graduate who shares the same philosophy of nursing that
Aubrey evidenced with every interaction she had with patients, peers and faculty; patience, compassion, determination to learn, confidence and passion. Melissa Gray and Lauren Grip were presented with this award.
In honor and recognition of James J. Dooley, past long-tenured President & CEO of Finger Lakes Health, who served as the first President of the Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing, the James J. Dooley Memorial Award was presented to Rocio Andrade for serving as a role model and mentor to others and demonstrating a love for family, community and the healthcare profession.
The Graduate Nurse Engagement Award, recognizing a graduate nurse who has demonstrated the 5 C’s: Clarity, Competency, Confidence, Collaboration, and Commitment, was presented to Shamiya Snowden.
The Susan O’Brian Cecere Memorial Award is given to the graduate who has displayed genuine caring for classmates as well as patients. This graduate displays selfless acts and affects everyone around them with their obvious caring qualities, calm demeanor and nurturing personality. This year’s recipient was Chittadaphone Phouthavong.
The Mary Eliza Mahoney Award was presented to Tonia Flowers as a graduate student who has worked diligently to overcome obstacles in pursuit of their dream to enter the nursing profession.
The Dr. Victoria Record Award was presented to Morgan Smalls as a graduate student who demonstrates Dr. Record’s vision and fearlessness in the face of obstacles as well as outstanding leadership and determination to elevate the practice of nursing to ever higher standards.
Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduates for 2019 are Kayla Allen (Newark), Rocio Andrade (Newark), Krystin Blunt (Rochester), Eileen Burghdurf (Red Creek), Holly Calabrese, (Geneva), Katie Church (Auburn), Claudia Coleates (Stanley), Kolene Cook (Shortsville), Vonshaye Crosby (Rochester), Maud Dadzie (Syracuse), Brianna Dailey (Shortsville), Danielle DeSimone (Hilton), Jamie D'Orazio (West Henrietta), Tenicia Dudley (Rochester), JoElla Ellingwood (Rochester), Tonia Flowers (Rochester), Arrielle Geise (Newark), Chanese Glanton-Robinson (Rochester), Melissa Gray (Brockport), Shantel Griffin (Rochester), Lauren Grip (Rochester), Lakeaya Hartzog (Rochester), Kristina Herman (Rochester), Paula Hitt (Auburn), Knaye Holmes (Rochester), Elisha Jackson (Rochester), Jeannette Jackson (Liverpool), Haylie Karlsen (Romulus), Amanda Klug (Naples), Tamara Lehman (Clifton Springs), Susanne Lippincott (Rush), Nikki LoBello (Henrietta), Kelli Martin (Rochester), Lillian Martinez (Lyons), Margaret McPeak (Fayetteville), Irene Mwiti (Ontario), Danielle Olevnik (Dundee), Roxana Ontaneda (Fairport), Amber Peters (Newark), Chittadaphone Phouthavong (Rochester), Alice Radcliff (Dundee), Kristina Rosso (Rochester), Kaileigh Scialdone (Auburn), Mariah Sheradin (Geneva), Morgan Smalls (West Henrietta), Jessica Smola (Rochester), Shamiya Snowden (Rochester), Kwandao Thompson (Penn Yan), Brittany Updike (Interlaken), LiLing Wang Qiu (Waterloo), Stacie Warren (Rochester), Tammy Warren (West Monroe) and Elaine Watkins (Rochester).
Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing and Health Sciences offers flexibility to students seeking an associate’s degree in Applied Science with a major in nursing. As a privileged part of Geneva General Hospital, its unique hospital-based program allows for students to gain clinical experience on its campus in Geneva, NY. Finger Lakes Health College of Nursing also has a dual degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in partnership with Keuka College.