Description of the video:

Ma[orchestra music playing]

[Slide] The World Health Organization has declared 2020 to be "The Year of the Nurse" in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. Indiana University was also established in 1820, making this IU's Bicentennial year. Today, we honor the 87 young women and men who will follow in Florence Nightingale's footsteps. And become the first nursing graduates of Indiana University's third century.

[Slideshow of photos with song playing in background about remaining friends forever.]

[Slide] School of Nursing, Indiana University, Bloomington logo displayed; text reads May 2020 Recognition Ceremony. 

[Slide] A message for our graduates from Governor Eric J. Holcomb.

[music playing, Governor Holcomb speaking] Hello, IU Nursing Grads. I'm Governor Eric Holcomb. I don't have to tell you. This year hasn't been typical. You've lived it. And while your graduate ceremony, it looks different, that doesn't for a moment diminish your hard work and your desire to help your neighbors at their moment of greatest need. I'm proud and you should be, too, of the way you've adapted and met the challenges COVID-19 has thrown our way, and as you prepare to transition from your classes to your career, caring for Hoosiers and meeting COVID-19 head-on, there's never been a time when what you've chosen to do matters more. Some people live their life wondering if they've made a difference in the world. Nurses have never had that problem because Hoosiers all across Indiana are counting on you and the critical work you'll do. You'll make us proud. Congrats, Grads.

[Slide] A message for our graduates from IU Vice Provost Lauren Robel.

[music playing, Vice Provost Robel speaking] Congratulations to every one of our nursing graduates. The world has never needed your compassion, your devotion to the ethical tenents of your profession and your skill more than it does right now. So, along with my congratulations, please take my thanks and the thanks of a grateful nation for everything you will be doing as you enter the nursing profession in this extraordinary time.

[Slide] Your IU School of Nursing on the Bloomington campus is small but mighty, making a name for itself by reaching out to the rural communities of South Central Indiana.

[Slide] Sharing your pride in your school and your accomplishments is your Associate Dean, Mary Lynn Davis-Ajami, who welcomes you, your family, and friends to this virtual event.

[music playing, Associate Dean Davis-Ajami speaking] I want to welcome our distinguished guests, Provost and Executive President for Indiana University Bloomington, Provost Lauren Robel, our Dean and Distinguished Professor Robin Newhouse. I also want to thoroughly welcome and personally welcome the family, friends, faculty, students, and staff who have joined us today to celebrate this most historic class, the bicentennial class of the IU School of Nursing, the Class of 2020.

[Slideshows of photos Class of 2020 interspersed with video as the Associate Dean speaks] You will take us into the next century of what it means to be a professional nurse. As you enter the workforce, you are going to join more than four million other colleagues that are nurses across the United States. I know that you are well-prepared. The IU School of Nursing has a long and storied history of being one of the top-ranked nursing schools in the country. You should be proud of your accomplishment of being here in this school. You will enter the workforce prepared because I know you know evidence-based practice, quality and safety, and you have been taught how to care for the well-being of all your patients no matter what background they come from. You are our future. You are the future of nursing, and we are very proud of you and your accomplishments. You have vibrancy, and you have passion, and that is evidenced by the many things you did in our communities and the ground-breaking things you did.

We recognize the great accomplishments of our RN to BSN cohort. We had 15 students here. Many are graduating in May and several as well in August. Congratulations, too, for your accomplishments and your passion for the profession.

We want to also recognize the very special things that the IU School of Nursing traditional class brings as well. You have so many things to be proud of. The number of students who were entered into the Sigma Theta Tau induction, the honor society of nursing. Our honors students, for the ground-breaking research that you did under the guidance of Dr. Angela Opsahl and Dr. Amy Wonder. We have a student here who stepped forward and went through the process to create our Volunteer Student Corp. This will leave a legacy in our communities and the rural space as well. You are the first class to really enter the rural communities surrounding Bloomington, and you had such a huge impact. You had the impact on the health outcomes of the patients and influenced the health and well-being of the communities in the rural space. That's a huge accomplishment. So, I really want to say thank you. Congratulations. You're a great class. We look forward to hearing from you in the future. We look forward to actually seeing you in person in the future, and thank you.

[Slide] Wherever your career takes you, you will always be an IU Nurse.

[Slide] Dean Robin Newhouse explains the special meaning of that phrase and makes four suggestions to guide your career.

[Music playing, Dean Robin Newhouse speaking] On behalf of the faculty and staff at the Indiana University School of Nursing, I congratulate you on the graduation and entering into the profession of nursing. I see that you are an IU Nurse—a distinguishing characteristic. You are clinicians who will improve the lives of patients, families, and communities. Some of you in our graduating class have already responded to Governor Holcomb's executive order to join the state workforce by applying for a temporary license to help combat COVID-19. I thank you for your service as you transition from student to clinician. Some of you will continue your education through graduate school or doctoral study to prepare you as an advanced practice registered nurse that will diagnose and treat patients in primary care. Policy makers that will influence health through local, state, and national legislation. Leaders of health systems in public health, primary care. And some will be scientists that made ground-breaking discoveries that will help people choose treatments, manage symptoms, and improve the quality of life of people they serve. And some will become faculty who teach the next generation of nurses.

As you prepare for entry into practice as a registered nurse, I offer four suggestions.

[Slide] Practice with compassion & lead with passion.

[Dean Newhouse speaking] First, practice with compassion and lead with passion. Bring these two professional attributes to the science of nursing, your critical, clinical judgment and decision-making about the patient's response to treatment and the interventions you apply.

[Slide] Reflect on why you chose nursing as a profession.

[Dean Newhouse speaking] Second, reflect on why you chose nursing as a profession. These reflections will enhance your professional development and help you make decisions important to your professional life.

[Slide] Embrace challenges as opportunities.

[Dean Newhouse speaking] Third, embrace challenges as opportunities to think innovatively and to work with others toward new approaches to practice.

[Slide] Treasure the special relationships you have with your patients.

[Dean Newhouse speaking] Fourth, treasure the special relationships that you have with your patients. Use your talents to partner with them to guide their care.

I know that this last semester at IU has been different than we expected in many ways. As you progress through your career, you will have quite a story to tell about your experience attending and graduating from nursing school during the pandemic. Stay connected to Indiana University. We are interested in hearing your updates and reconnecting with you at alumni events. I'd like to make a special call-out to those of you who are RN to BSN graduates. I know you are already working within the clinical arena and caring for COVID-19 patients. I'd like to thank you, and I'm so glad you came back to get your BSN from IU.

And, to all of you, we know you are well prepared and ready. Today you take that first step towards your future. I congratulate you for your accomplishment and am enthusiatic about your future. You will make a difference to the health of countless people because you are an IU Nurse, and it IS a good day to be an IU Nurse. Congratulations.

[Slideshow with student photos and music.]

[Assistant Dean Angela Opsahl] Hello, IUB seniors. I'm here to say I'm so happy and proud for you as you graduate. In the blink of an eye you will be completing your green light for VATI and NCLEX then it's on to professional practice. Please know that we are here for you even after graduation, so please keep in touch. There are challenging yet exciting times ahead for all of you. Remember your ethics content you had with me and the inherent worth of all those you will come in contact with through your career. I'm looking forward to all the wonderful things you will accomplish. I will leave you with part of a quote from Dr. Seuss

"You're off to great places. Today is your day.
Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way."

Blessings always to each of you.

[Slide] Today's commencement address is by Chad Priest, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Indiana. His research and scholarship interests include international risk reduction, healthcare emergency managment, crisis leadership and community resilience to disasters and crisis events. His remarks today, and his challenge to our graduates to find ways of improving the nursing profession, could not be more timely.

[Dr. Chad Priest] Dean Newhouse. Dr. Davis-Ajami. Faculty and Staff. Parents. Partners. Love ones. Guests. And, my newly minted fellow Indiana University alums. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you on this most important day. I know this is not the graduation you wanted. It's not the graduation your parents and family hoped for. Yet, here we are, gathered together, apart, to celebrate your remarkable achievements, and celebrate we must, even during this time of deep crisis and uncertainty. Especially during this time, celebrating your important milestone is our duty, our privilege, and a source of great hope for all of us gathered here together with you and for every single human being on this planet.  My hope is that you are participating fully in this day, that you're wearing the dress or the suit you bought, wearing your cap and gown, surrounded in person or virtually by the people who love you and who have supported you in your personal and academic journey.

You know, it's easy to think of this as an exceptional time. It certainly feels exceptional. Sickness and suffering on a scale few of us have experienced. Loved ones lost. Millions of people around the globe sheltered in place. Lonely. Scared. Wealth reduced overnight and in some cases eliminated. Our social customs and traditions up-ended then adjusted then reordered in only the course of a few months. It's easy to think of this as an exceptional time, especially when we tell ourselves the story, the story that is still being written but that we're coming to understand began in a single moment in the middle of winter on the other side of the planet when one strand of RNA wrapped up in a very fragile envelope found a new host. A human. Probably for the first time ever. We became the perfect spreaders, living in dense cities in close proximity to one another, our interconnected transportation links a literal super highway for transmission. Our human need for touch and proximity all fueled the spread and, seemingly out of no where, the virus became a threat to every person on this planet. Our entire species. And the threat still exists. It hovers over us. It's just around every corner, coloring every event that marks our lives. It's present in and between every encounter with every human being around us, and that threat is present even on a day as beautiful as today with the warmth of early May piercing through a bright blue sky as we mark the commencement of your professional careers at your graduation from university. It's easy to think of this as an exceptional time and of ourselves as victims of circumstances far out of our control. Except it isn't. And we're not. You see, we've been here before and not that long ago.

Since 1700, there have been nine pandemics. On average, that's about one every 35 years or so, and of course, these pandemics do not happen at clean intervals, and they vary in their severity and impact. The 1918 influenza pandemic was much more severe than the 1968 flu pandemic. The 1918 pandemic killed between 20 and 50 million people. The estimate interval there is staggering all by itself, but the 1968 pandemic killed a million people—a million. That is not a small number, and 1968 doesn't feel that long ago to me, and I'm betting it doesn't feel that long ago to most of the faculty, parents, and loved ones gathered with us today. But if 1968 feels like ancient history, we can look to a much more recent and enormously tragic pandemic—HIV-AIDS. Since the first cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome were reported in 1981, an estimated 65 million people have been affected and 25 million have died. I don't mention these tragedies to diminish the threat we face now. The COVID-19 threat is as real to us now as any of these threats were to those who lived through them and are still living through them. HIV-AIDS may be treatable but that treatment assumes wealth and privilege and access to quality healthcare, and this HIV-AIDS pandemic continues today. There is still no cure.

I mention these tragedies to highlight one of the cruelest features of humankind—our predisposition to forget the lessons we've already learned. Now in fairness, this may be adaptive, so pandemics occur with low frequency in relation to the average human lifespan and despite the fact that they have high impact. If we worried about them all the time, it would be hard to focus on anything else. It would be hard to flourish. It isn't that we ignore disease and pestilence. Quite the contrary. That we can enjoy such long lifespans and high quality of living is directly attributable to human ingenuity, creativity, and our disciplined adherence to scientific inquiry. We have eradicated some disease, controlled many others. Yet, when pandemics arrive, we're slow to see it happening and then we all must work collaboratively through our amnesia. Invariably we ask, "how can this be happening?" "why me?" "why now?" We're surprised, shocked. I've spent most of my professional life thinking about protecting health systems and communities during crises. I've participated in countless exercises and meetings about pandemic preparedness. I've worked with health systems in Africa during ebola. I helped write a few of the plans and playbooks we're currently using to respond to COVID-19. You would think, then, that I'd be immune to this amnesia—that as a quote-unquote expert, I'd have seen this coming, but just like each of you, I find myself at times observing our situation with a sense of bewilderment, as if I didn't even really believe the work I've been doing for decades. And, in the middle of tremendously long days throughout this outbreak, I've found myself telling myself with astonishment, "we're in the middle of a global pandemic. Right now." And, at the end of the day and in the dark and the quiet of the night, when the demons come, I think about the suffering, not only of those who are sick but of those who are alone and in isolation. Those who have lost loved ones. Those whose lives have been up-ended. And I think, "we have to be better. We can't forget this." It's easy to think that this is an exceptional time, or that COVID-19 is an exceptional virus. We antimorphize the virus, talking about how sneaky it is or how effective it is, but this virus isn't thinking about you and me. It doesn't have a master plan or a playbook it's following. It's a strand of RNA that found a home in us. And like virtually every single disease we know, its transmission, spread, and impact is determined largely by the social order we have built.

News reports have observed with surprise that disportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and among the most vulnerable of our communities—of the homeless, prisoners, the elderly, poor, but this is not news at least not to you, IU nurses, who have been steeped in understanding the health through the lens of social determinants that shaped it. You know that it will take more than isolation, testing, and contact tracing to end this pandemic. It will take more than a vaccine. It will require that we remodel the social structures that we have built, that cruelly select some among us for greater sickness and suffering in the face of COVID-19 and so many other illnesses. Remember, we built the structures which are enabling the spread of COVID-19 and fueling sickness and suffering. We already know those social structures that impact our health—socioeconomic status, education, our physical environment, economic security, access to quality healthcare, and social cohesion. We call them the social determinants of health, but they are really the social determinants of our survival, and we ignore them at our peril. But, ignore them we have, and instead, we have built an enormous sick-care model that prioritizes rescue over mitigation, life-saving treatment over prevention. It's in front of us to see on television now, in speeches and even on yard signs proclaiming our gratitude and support for those frontline heroes working in our hospitals. Like each of you, I am deeply grateful for their work and, more importantly, their sacrifice. I think often of my former students—hundreds of them—working under scary and dangerous conditions with inadequate personal protective equipment, and we're right to reify these colleagues. We are right to celebrate their work. But, we're wrong about one thing. They are not on the front line.

The frontline of this pandemic, and every one we have had before, is in our community. It is in our neighborhoods. Consider that one of our first measures in dealing with COVID-19 was to try to create more capacity in our hospitals. We call it surge capacity—a term, that until a few months ago, was used by only a handful of public health workers and those of us who study and support health preparedness. We've chosen to create that capacity inside our sick-care structures, opening more beds, getting more ventilators, recruiting more staff to save those who have become gravely ill. Our challenge containing this pandemic reflects the challenges of this system we have built, which is designed to respond—often when it's too late, and our persistent and deadly belief that the social order around us is preordained. We can never stop caring for the sickest among us, and we must invest in our hospitals so that they're maximally prepared when needed. But imagine if we spent even a fracture of our energy addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the real frontline—in the community. Instead of only building more hospitals or putting up more tents or setting up more cots, what if we deployed the full might of our scientific knowledge on the frontline to mitigate the impact of this and any disease before it strikes. That work is hard. It is far more complex than our most complex medical care. For the frontline in our culture is also a fault line, separating the haves and the have-nots, and working in communities requires more than an understanding of virology, of human anatomy, physiology and medical care. To see our way through this pandemic—and the next one—and the next one after that—we must, together, work in our communities and in our communities to remodel the structures that make us sick. We cannot observe that a disease impacts the African American community with such precision and devastation so out of proportion to every other community and then do nothing. We cannot accept that preparedness is impossible, that in the face of this or any other disease that we have to accept a certain amount of death, a certain amount of suffering. We have to do better. And we can.

I am, believe it not, an optimist. I know we will get through this. I am as sure of it as I am of anything. There IS hope. There IS an after. The question is, "what will our after look like? What after shall we build together? Will it be one of justice? Compassion? Love and health? Or will it be the status quo, a disjointed system that neither meets our needs or reflects our potential?" Ultimately that will be your decision, and today we're taking the first step in turning this problem over to you.

Celebrate this moment. Soak in this accomplishment. Each of you are graduates from one of the finest nursing schools in the nation. Recall the friends you've made, challenges you've endured, fun you've had, the lives you have touched, and those that have touched yours. Find peace and joy in those memories and the deep satisfaction of knowing that you are prepared to do your duty. And then, join us. For your duty now is to join the fight. Join us and listen. Observe and see. What are we doing? What aren't we doing? Listen and learn. Learn the science, the psychology, the craft. Look to your mentors, your teachers, your experienced leaders, and co-workers. Trust our instincts. Value our experience, but challenge our orthodoxy. Never let us forget that COVID-19 was not exceptional, and that we are only exceptional if we do better. We can't stop pandemics, but we can stop forgetting how to defeat them. Challenge the social structures that we have built over centuries which subjugate the other, create the gravest of injustices, and bind our hearts and souls, and in the process create the perfect platform, the tiniest strand of RNA wrapped in the most delicate of envelopes to threaten us the same way again.

While I'm sad to not be with you in person today, I'm so lucky to have only one image of you in my mind and that is all of you grouped together, dirty and tired from a day of mass casualty training at Muscatatuck where you demonstrated your grit and your resolve. Your colleagues told me that you would be the generation of nurses that would change healthcare forever. I hope that's true. That's the image I want to keep with me as you embark on your careers. So wherever you work, whatever kind of nurse you become, whether you work in the ER, the NICU, the OR, the health department, or the school down the street. Remember. We're all public health nurses now.

It isn't the graduation you wanted. It isn't what you and your family planned, but here we are, together, apart, aided by technology that will allow you to remember this day forever, if you wish. So, from time to time, let me invite you, watch your ceremony. Listen to your name being called. Listen to the names of your friends and classmates, and remember that every name being called today represents hope for all of us. When it's bad. When it gets dark. When you get scared. Watch the tape. Rewind. Repeat. Listen to your name. Listen to the names of your friends. Find hope there as we do, for this marks the day you joined the fight. Never daunted, we cannot falter. In the battle, we're tried and true. My fellow alums, welcome to the fight and know that we're all for you.

[Slideshow with music]

[Dr. Sharon Gates, faculty] Congratulations on achieving your big dream of graduating from the IU School of Nursing. I know this is difficult and, you've done it! I am sorry that we're not going to be able to get together for your graduation ceremony. I really love this time of year, and it's so exciting to see your families, the excitement on their faces, and how happy you are. I just want you to know how proud I am of you and wish you the best in your careers. I love you.

[Faculty Deb Smith] You've all worked so hard and learned so much and I am so  proud of how professional you have become. Your learning responsibilities are not ending. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You've chosen a field that is constantly evolving, and your knowledge will evolve as well. You've gotten a great education. Go out there and put it to great work. Good luck in all you do, and don't hesitate to stay in touch.

[Slide] Your Class of 2020 leaves the IU School of Nursing with more than memories. You have your share of honors too!

[Slide] Leading off, Dr. Amy Hagedorn Wonder salutes our honors program students.

[Dr. Amy Wonder] It is my privilege to recognize students in the undergraduate honors program. The undergraduate honors program is intended to provide students with an experience research or evidence-based practice for the purpose of quality improvement in practice or education. This is an elective experience for eligible students that requires extra coursework and responsibilities.

This year I was pleased to mentor 10 wonderful students. This is the largest number of students to participate in the undergraduate honors program in a single graduating class for IU Nursing on the Bloomington campus. The students work together in groups of five similar to a task force in practice or in a research team. One team was interested in participating in a research project that would impact care and outcomes for perioperative patients. Perioperative patients are those who are recovering or going for surgery. These students engaged in a multi-site study focusing on commonalities among patients and care-related factors with specific types of organ space surgical site infections—urgical site infections that are reportable to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which we know as the CDC. From the results, the team developed nursing implications to promote optimal patient care and outcomes.

Fellow faculty Dena Klineline and I mentored the following students in all aspects of this project.

[Students photos, name and home town]
Lauren Goldman, Leon, IN
Sara McAlister, Fort Wayne, IN
Nathalie Bone, Fort Wayne, IN
Abigail Keith, Schererville, IN
Jenna McSwain, Indianapolis, IN

[Amy Wonder] This research was accepted for a podium presentation at the 2020 Global Surgical Conference and Expo, which is hosted by the Association of Registered Perioperative Registered Nurses, which we fondly refer to as AORN. The students worked diligently to submit their presentation in December for the March conference, which was scheduled to take place in San Diego, California. While the conference was canceled due to the pandemic, the presentation will be shared in a virtual conference for the AORN members this May.

This research was also selected for poster presentations representing IU School of Nursing at the 44th Annual Research Conference hosted by the Midwest Nursing Research Society, which we also call MNRS. The poster was presented at the April conference in a virtual format.

Presently this team is finishing a manuscript that will be submitted to the AORN journal for consideration in a fall supplement on quality improvement. These are major accomplishments—not only for undergraduates but for any—masters or DNP students or professional, and so I'm very proud of these. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

The other team was interested in educational research that connected to practice. While we strive to prepare students and nurses to utilize evidence to inform their care decisions, education is often cited as a barrier to the process—a process we often refer to as evidence-based practice. Therefore, this team contributed to a large study that compared the statistical methods that are published in professional nursing journals against that which is taught in nursing programs at the baccalaureate and masters levels. I had the privilege of mentoring the following students in all aspects of this project.

[Students photos, name and home town]
Gabrielle Harvey, Royal Center, IN
Zachary Futterman, Oak Park, CA
Madison Henninger, Warsaw, IN
McKenzie Salmon, Hagerstown, IN
Shelby Rindenau, Irvine, CA

[Amy Wonder] This unprecedented study required an immense amount of data collection over the course of an entire academic year. This was a very demanding project, and the students grew not only in their knowledge of the research process but also statistical literacy. I applaud these students for their dedication to the project. I'm excited to know where these results will be presented and published in the next year and how these results will inform changes in nursing education and impact evidence-based practice. I would like to offer a special thank you to these students. This was not an easy project. They did an amazing job, and they were fun to work with at every step.

Congratulations to all of my undergraduate honors students, or shall I say, graduates. I look foward to hearing about your future endeavors using evidence-based research and EBP to improve practice and education.

[Slide] Sigma: Global Nursing Excellence

[Dr. Pei-Shiun Chang] Sigma Theta Tau, which in Greek means love, courage, and honor is the international honor society of nursing, which was started by six nurses in Indiana University Training School for Nurses, which is now IU School of Nursing in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1922. It now has 540 chapters throughout 100 countries with more than 135,000 active members. The mission of this honor society of nursing is advancing world health and creating nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Qualifications to become a member of Sigma Theta Tau, International are an IU Grade Point Average cumulative of 3.5 points or higher. I am pleased to announce the award of 33 nursing graduates inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, International, in April of 2020. They are granted the purple and white honor cord for being a member of of this society. Our new members are

[Students photos and name]
Ashley Adair
Megan Andreassan
Anna Ballart
Moriah Bennett
Megan Coppersmith
Kendra Crouch
Ashley Eissler
Mary Ann Fitzpatrick
Joanna Foster
Regan Foster
Ashlynn Fox
Molly Fox
Zachary Futterman
Kirsten Hartman
Gabrielle Harvey
Hannah Heidenreich
Madison Henninger
Carrie Lawson
Jenna Maleckas
Brooke Mayes
Katherine McDaniel
Jenna McSwain
Natalie Mills
Jacob Neidigh
Kyra Nelson
Morgan Orton
Shelby Rindenau
McKenzie Salmon
Emma Sullivan
Kayla Sutcliffe
Jayde Wilkerson
Fanyin Zhang

[Slide] National Student Nurses' Association

[Faculty Jamie Titzer]  The Student Nurses' Association for the School of Nursing organized and planned some exciting events this past fall and spring semester. Some of them included a Mentor-Mentee Reveal event, which was successful; an NCLEX Bowl; provided and sold SNA apparel to the classes; an interview practice and career development event; and the ISNA conference, which was awesome. These events were very useful and I thank the officers for putting them together. The senior officers were

[slide with name, photo, and office]
SNA President Ashley Eissler
Vice President Mary Anne Fitzpatrick
Secretary Katherina McDaniel
Philanthropy Director Sydney Sanford
Network Director Lauren Goldman

[Jamie Titzer] I'm very proud of the officers and the SNA members for making a successful year for the SNA. Congrats and good luck with everything you do, Seniors. You're going to be awesome nurses.

[Slide] The moment has arrived for your entry into the nursing profession.

[Slide] At the request of our graduates, Mona Visnius will now call the roll of names.

[Mona Visnius] The nursing pin has long history dating back to the 12th century crusades. However, Florence Nightingale's influence on nursing in the late 1800s created school pinning programs that recognized nurses' devotion to the welfare and well-being of society. Nursing pins symbolize the graduates achievements and transition into their profession. We ask that each of our graduates pin themselves as they hear their names read.

[Slide with photo, name, and hometown; music Pomp and Circumstance playing]
Ashley Adair, Fort Wayne, IN
Megan Andreasson, Sullivan, MO
Kristen Arnspong, Northbrook, IL
Anna Ballart, Rising Sun, IN
Moriah Bennett, Denver, CO
Nathalie Bone, Fort Wayne, IN, Highest Distinction
Carly Cason, Carmel, IN
Alexander Collins, Fort Wayne, IN
Bailey Cooper, Bedford, IN
Megan Coppersmith, Fishers, IN
Daniel Craghead, Fort Wayne, IN
Kendra Crouch, Bloomington, IN Highest Distinction
Lindsey Deig, Evansville, IN
Emily Deputy, Elkhart, IN
Emma Earl, Greenfield, IN
Ashley Eissler, Newburg, IN
Samantha Fenzel, Brownsburg, IN Highest Distinction
Mary Ann Fitzpatric, Sellersburg, IN Highest Distinction
Joanna Foster, Kendallville, IN
Regan Foster, Covington, IN
Ashlyn Fox, Bloomington, IN
Molly Fox, Moline, IL
Emma Foy, Naperville, IL
Zachary Futterman, Oak Park, CA
Lauren Goldman, Leo, IN
Kelly Haines, Chicago, IL
Alivia Harbison, New Albany, IN
Kirsten Hartman, Palmyra, IN
Gabrielle Harvey, Royal Center, IN
Hanna Heidenreich, Shelbyville, IN
Madison Henninger, Warsaw, IN
Macy Hill, Martinsville, IN
Zara Karimi, South Bend, IN
Abigail Keith, Schererville, IN
Carrie Lawson, Carmel, IN
Crystal Le, Carmel, IN
Anna Lubbers, Indianapolis, IN
Jenna Maleckas, LaPorte, IN
Kayla Mamone, Goshen, IN
Elizabeth Markey, Fort Wayne, IN
Colleen Matthew, Alexandria, IN
Brook Mayes, Beavercreek, OH
Sarah McAlister, Fort Wayne, IN
Katherine McDaniel, Indianapolis, IN
Jenna McSwain, Indianapolis, IN
Madelyne Miller, Ellettsville, IN
Theresa Miller, Indianapolis, IN
Natalie Mills, Fishers, IN
Jacob Neidigh, Fort Wayne, IN
Kyra Nelson, LaPorte, IN
Morgan Orton, Carmel, IN Hightest Distinction
Ekta Pandey, Fishers, IN
Elizabeth Pugh, Indianapolis, IN
Katelyn Richett, Indianapolis, IN
Jordyn Ricks, Fort Wayne, IN
Shelby Rindenau, Irvine, CA
Olivia Russell, Fishers, IN
McKenzie Salmon, Hagerstown, IN
Sydney Sanford, Newbrough, IN
Seneca Schickel, Pekin, IL Highest Distinction
Andrea Schmidt, Plainfield, IN
Alexandra Schreiber, Elmhurst, IL
Emma Sullivan, Bedford, IN
Kayla Sutcliffe, Fishers, IN
Makenzie Teder, Jasper, IN
Jayde Wilkerson, Patoka, IN
Gabrielle Willis, Hagerstown, IN
Lindsay Wisdorf, Carmel, IN
Xinyan Xiao, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Megan Young, New Palestine, IN
Fanyin Zhang, Shanghai, China

[Slides listing RN to BSN graduates' name and hometown]
Morgan Benstin, RN, Bedford, IN
Amy Brown, RN, Bedford, IN
Marissa Emond, RN, Bloomington, IN
Jasmine Fish-Bangel, RN, Indianapolis, IN
Kelsie Fitzpatrick, RN, Bloomington, IN
Olivia Gettlefinger, RN, Bloomington, IN
Shawn Hale, RN, Bloomington, IN
Dana Holy, RN, Unionville, IN
Miranda Malfait, RN, New Haven, IN
Toni McEvilly, RN, Bloomington, IN
Josiane Mefeussom, RN, Bloomington, IN
Tyanna Miller, RN, Sandy, UT
Erin Ooley, RN, Martinsville, IN
Amanda Rennie, RN, Bloomington, IN
Anthony Smoot, RN, Bloomington, IN Highest Distinction, Sigma Theta Tau

[Mona Visnius] It has been an honor to work with each of you as you've studied. I do wish we could have been together in person to share this milestone, but remember with great change comes great opportunity. Best of luck in all of your endeavors, and let me know how you're doing.

[Slides JibJab animations Dr. Roxie Barnes] You did it, Graduate. TIME TO PARTY! Congrats!

[Assistant Director of Development Becky Jessmer video with student photos] Hello, graduates. The feeling of relief and sense of pride that you feel right now are well earned. Your school is so proud of you. Proud of your courage. Your hard work, resilience and dedication to persevere at a time of uncertainty. What an honor the last few years to watch you grow from students to nursing. And, now to get to watch you put your skills to work at a time when they are needed the most.

Ghandi once said, "When someone is going through a storm, your silent presence is more powerful than a million empty words." As you go into the storm, my challenge to you is to be a lighthouse. Beacons of light to guide people through the storm. Be the lighthouse especially to patients who cannot be with their loved ones right now. Be the light as you are holding hands and giving care and working tirelessly to put your patient and their family and their needs first.

Our alumni are the foundation upon which the School of Nursing is built, and I know you will continue to rise to whatever challenges lie ahead. And there will be challenges especially in today's world. You'll have questions, stumbles, moments of being overwhelmed, and times of greatness. Also remember to take care of yourself. Take time for the long walk, the extra long shower. Time for family. Time for friends. And, when you feel like quitting, remember why you started. Indiana University School of Nursing has helped you build a strong foundation that you will continue to build upon as you start your first jobs as BSN-prepared nurses. The last few years, you've called Indiana University home, and as you go into the world, my hope is that IU will remain in your heart and a place you call home. We will always be here for you. Please keep in touch and let us know where you are and how you're doing. We are all extremely proud of you

[Slide] His classmates voted him the "Best Candidate for the CIA."

[Slide] But today, Jacob Neidich is your Class Spokesperson.

[Slide] He shares his thoughts about the journey he took with you, turning a calling into a profession.

[Jacob Neidich with occasional photos of classmates] First, I would like to thank our staff and the faculty at the Nursing School, the professors, the dean, everyone. You have been amazing. You have helped us achieve fantastic things, and you have developed us into amazing nurses. So, "we live in interesting times." That is a quote from a British politician in the 1930s. It was a reference to times being chaotic. It was a curse. It was a bad thing. And, you can see we're in the same boat now. I'm giving what would have been a graduation speech, but instead I'm giving it in my bedroom in Bloomington over Zoom. And, instead of us celebrating the last few weeks, us having our last little fives, us enjoying our last moments of college before we go into real life, we're home. And that's unfortunate.

But I want to use the same quote, because we do live in interesting times in a good way. We are about to join a healthcare system that may be the first in history to have ever beat a worldwide pandemic. The bubonic plague, the justinian plague, the Spanish flu were all worldwide pandemics that caused the end of empires—the fall of historic moments. And, yet, we're going into one where, though a tragedy, it truly was, we won or are winning. And, I want you to remember that as you go out and you do amazing things because that's what we were prepared to do here. We're going to do amazing things and help people. We're going to be on the cusp of developing medicine, therapies—so many things that will change people's lives. We're going to be on the cusp of new research, new medicines, new therapies and all of these things are going to be a part of people's best and worst days of their life. And IU Nursing has trained us, all of us, to go out and do that right. Go out and do the best we can for people. So, I'm thankful for all the time I got to spend with you guys. I wish I could have spent the last few months together. I really do. It would have been amazing to celebrate and be here together. But, that's not how it's going to be. So, I hope this recording is enough, and I hope that after this, you go out and pass the NCLEX. You go to a hospital or a clinic or you go on to get your Nurse Practitioner or whatever you want to do with your life, and you go do amazing things.

So, thank you guys all so much. It has truly been an honor to spend the last three years of my life with you. And, I hope in my heart that I get to see you all again in a cap and gown for a true in-person graduation.

[Slide] Florence Nightingale was called the "Lady with the Lamp" because of her tireless devotion to caring for soldiers wounded in battle, often making her rounds late at night carrying a small lamp.

[Slide] In her honor, we now take part in the traditional lighting of the candles as we recite the IU School of Nursing pledge.

[Slide] Joining Dr. Marsha Hughes-Gay in reciting the pledge are senior class officers Kristen Arnspong, Carrie Larson, and Lindsay Wisdorf.

[Slides with videos and the words to the Nursing Pledge] 

I hereby pledge before this assembly, as a member of the Indiana University School of Nursing. To uphold its core values of respect, responsibility, trust and dialogue. I will show respect, for all people recognizing the importance of their individual contributions and diversity. I will take full responsibility for my actions and foster trust by acting with honesty, integrity, and openness. I pledge to maintain high personal standards and strive to elevate myself in the nursing profession through a process of lifelong learning. I will maintain the privacy and confidence of my patients. I will embrace diversity, be impartial and devote myself to continuously advocate for the safety and welfare of my those committed to my care. To the best of my ability I will serve in my practice with distinction.

[Slide] Congratulations Class of 2020 You did it!

[Faculty Hannah Raber] Congratulations Class of 2020.

[Faculty Kate Forrest] We miss you and we wish you well.

[Special Projects Coordinator Delanie Marks] Hey, Class of 2020. Just wanted to send a quick congratulations to you and wishing you the best for the future.

[Faculty Kim Decker] Congratulations and best wishes Class 2020.

[Advisor Leslie Hobbs-Ramsey] We're going to miss you and you're a part of family, so keep in touch.

[Faculty Greg Carter] I was also looking forward to meeting your family members and your loved ones, to be able to have the opportunity to tell them how proud I am of your accomplishments and also that it wasn't my fault that 90% of you had a breakdown your sophomore year—maybe just a little.

[Faculty Amanda Brashear] Know that moving forward as a graduate from the IU School of Nursing, you are well equipped to go on and do great things.

[Faculty Britney Arce] You guys ended your nursing school career during a very unique time and you did so with resilience. You guys are going to be amazing nurses, and I'm so very proud and excited for each and every one of you.

[Strategic Marketing and Communications Manager John Simmons] You're going into the healthcare profession at a time when people really need you. And, you're going to do an absolutely amazing job.

[Sim Tech Sally Grindling] Remember what you learned. Be safe. You guys are going to do great. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask.

[Faculty Deanna Reising] Hope you all have a great graduation. Wish you all the best.

[Faculty Erin Wyatt] Do not let the fact that we cannot gather in person diminish from celebrating these huge accomplishments that you have all achieved.

[Faculty Pat Watts] I want to wish you all the best in your journey in the profession, wish you all the best on your NCLEX exams, and I want you to take what you have learned positive change in the practice of professional nursing.

[Slide] Indiana University Hoosiers banner with graduation tassel laying on it and a note reading Good luck to all of you!!!! Class of 2020 – May 9, 2020. From (Advisor) Debbie Hrisomalos

[Slide Advisor 'Chelle Filippelli] Best of luck.

[Slideshow]

[Slide] "Live life when you have it. Life is a splendid gift. There is nothing small about it." Florence Nightingale

Indiana University School of Nursing Bloomington