May 7, 2022, saw us return, for the first time in two years, to IU’s stately Presidents Hall as we celebrated the spring graduation of 98 young women and men (77 traditional BSN students and 21 students from our RN to BSN online program) from IU School of Nursing Bloomington (IUSON BL).
Saluting the extraordinary class of Spring 2022!
And what an event it was!
- Our May ceremony marked the first time for fellow IUSON BL graduate Wendy Trueblood Miller to address our newest alumni as the school’s associate dean.
- IUSON Dean Robin Newhouse congratulated our seniors on completing their degrees during a pandemic saying, “your resiliency is a measure of the nurse you will become, and we are thrilled to add you to our family of alumni across the globe.”
- Our graduates selected Clinical Assistant Professor and IU graduate Abby Berg to deliver the day’s commencement address. Abby used the analogy of a gigantic deep freezer to encourage our new nurses not to worry “about failing or what others may think.” “Be vulnerable,” she said. “Learn a new skill. Try something you’re awful at. Embrace challenge. And keep your ball rolling. You have limitless potential in nursing and beyond.”
- We saluted 2022 Daisy Award Winner, Clinical Assistant Professor Sharon Gates.
- Class spokespersons Nicole Milne and Kyndall Perry delighted our new grads and their families as they shared their memories of life as IU nursing students.
- Associate Professor Angela Opsahl recognized our Honors Program students and their many accomplishments, while NLRC Manager and Lecturer Hanna Raber read the names of the 23 new graduates inducted into Sigma Theta Tau (the International Honor Society of Nursing) and led our students in reciting the IU School of Nursing Pledge.
- And we remembered Caitlyn Logan—who passed away during her sophomore year due to complications from diabetes—by presenting a nursing pin to her family in her honor.
Our slideshow shares some of the highlights of the day, but words and pictures alone can’t fully capture the day’s emotions. Join us in recapturing the memories of May 7th by looking at the photos below.