Speakers encouraged members of the School of Nursing class of 2025 to embrace curiosity and rely on the support of their community and colleagues at the school’s commencement ceremony in Lisner Auditorium Friday.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Hawkins, who has served as director and chief of the Navy Nurse Corps since 2023, delivered the keynote address to the school’s over 400 graduates, encouraging them to work together as they enter their careers and dedicate themselves to lifelong learning. Officials also handed out a dozen awards, including recognitions for clinical excellence and “outstanding” students, among others.
Hawkins, who has served in the Navy Nurse Corps for 32 years, said nursing is not an “individual sport” and graduating nurses should rely on their colleagues and classmates for support and community. He said nurses should think of themselves as a “distinguished family,” working and learning together.
“Pull people up, not down,” Hawkins said. “Bring them along, show them what right looks like, encourage them.”
Hawkins said there is a “critical” shortage of nurses both in the U.S. and around the world and thanked the graduates for their dedication to the field and for joining the “team.” He said the graduates should never stop “raising the bar” for their own knowledge as they enter into the workforce.
“If you think you know enough, it’s time for you to retire,” Hawkins said. “None of us know enough. Our patients deserve you to be on the cutting edge of knowledge, competence and practice in an ever-changing healthcare system.”
School of Nursing Dean Susan Kelly-Weeder said the faculty and staff at the nursing school are the “best of the best” and committed to creating and implementing effective classroom and clinical experiences. She said nursing is both an “art and science,” with nurses having to navigate providing effective clinical solutions while maintaining strong relationships with their patients.
She said nursing graduates should prioritize building meaningful relationships with their patients and colleagues, and use curiosity as their “superpower” because it will help them gain deeper insights into diverse perspectives in “complex situations.”
“While clinical competence is crucial, demonstrating genuine care and empathy towards those you serve is equally essential,” Kelly-Weeder said.
Undergraduate student speaker Veronica Glimada said like nursing, life is full of unexpected turns, like when she earned a degree in business, then returned to college to pursue a second degree in nursing at GW. She said becoming a nurse as a second career is not a “pivot” but a “superpower,” allowing her to bring past experience into a new profession.
“That’s the beauty of nursing, and especially becoming a nurse as a second career,” Glimada said. “Whether you come from business, education, arts, military or even another science, your past experiences doesn’t prepare you for this moment, they make you a better nurse.”
Graduate student speaker Bruno Rustico, a doctorate of nursing practice graduate, said the nursing faculty “demanded excellence” from their students, not for prestige but for the communities the nurses will serve. He said the graduates have honed not only their skills at GW, but their voices, knowing that what they say and how they lead will shape the future of healthcare.
“Let us not be content with the way things have always been,” Rustico said. “Let us be the ones who redefine care delivery, who challenge inequities and who set new standards for excellence in practice and policy.”
