As additional honors, Derek was singled out by IU President Pamela Whitten at the all-campus Winter Commencement ceremony for graduating from our school with highest distinction, an honor he shared with classmate Taylor Clemens. Derek was also the winner of the Elizabeth Grossman award, which recognizes a student who achieves the highest grade point average in nursing courses across all nine IU campuses.

On May 6, we returned to Presidents Hall to celebrate the 82 new nurses graduating from our traditional BSN and RN-to-BSN programs. These students chose Dr. Amy Hagedorn Wonder to deliver the graduation address and Student Nurses’ Association Co-President Morgan Hardy to serve as class spokesperson, with Morgan’s remarks citing poet Maya Angelou being especially memorable.

Of note, graduating senior Haley Huff was the May 2023 recipient of the Elizabeth Grossman Award. It is a rare honor to have the same campus win both the fall and spring Grossman Awards, and we are so proud of both Derek and Haley.

Congratulations to all our outstanding new graduates!

Words alone cannot adequately capture the many memories from our December and May ceremonies. Join us now - through the slideshows below and this link to the livestreamed May ceremony - as we share the year's most memorable day in pictures.