Nursing Class of 2025: “Compassion is Your Superpower”

When James Wang, a University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) Master of Science in Nursing Entry-into-Nursing program graduate, came back from his military deployment, he was admitted to a psychiatric unit.

Days felt strange, his future unclear, he said.

But the kindness of a nurse on the ward changed his life. “You’re still here. That means something,” the nurse told him. And now, Wang, the student speaker at UMSON’s December 2025 Graduation ceremony, is setting out in a career in that very same field of psychiatric mental health nursing.

“Today, when people look at us, they see the nurses are ready to heal the world, but behind every gown is a journey that most will never see, and that journey connects us across generations,” Wang said during his address. “Nursing is not only a profession — nursing is also a legacy. A legacy is part of us and continues to live in someone we care for. And my legacy came from a military nurse.

“That simple moment changed my life. From her, I inherited something: the courage to keep going and the calling to one day sit beside others in their own darkness. Today, I'm standing here, not only as a survivor, a veteran, but also as a future psychiatric nurse and ready to carry this legacy forward,” Wang added.

On Dec. 12, in the ceremony held at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center in Baltimore, 300 degrees were conferred to summer and fall 2025 graduates, including 234 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees, 59 master’s degrees, four Doctor of Philosophy degrees, and three certificates. Of these, 261 were new nurses entering the workforce.

“To all of our graduates: You have persevered, you successfully passed all your semesters, you’ve completed all your assignments, and you have indeed earned your degree, all while balancing multiple demands and stressors. You have my deepest respect for all that you've been able to accomplish,” said Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD ’11, MS ’05, BSN ’04, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

Ogbolu selected Steve Pease, MS, associate dean for administration and finance, to carry the ceremonial mace that leads the processional. Pease, who has served in several capacities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) over 25 years, is retiring at the end of the calendar year; he is the first staff member ever to carry UMSON’s mace.

Nicole Beeson, DNP ’23, MSN ’21, MBA, BSN ’11, RN, CENP, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, was this year’s distinguished speaker. As Wang did, she shared the impact kindness had on her in one of her darkest moments.

Beeson, a career trauma nurse, spoke of a gruesome motorcycle accident she and her husband survived during a vacation in France.

Lying on the pavement in the rain after having been thrown from the motorcycle, Beeson was comforted by strangers who rushed to her side and prayed with her until help arrived, she said.

“In that moment, these perfect strangers living in a totally different country — we met each other. In that instant, I felt safe,” Beeson said, later adding, “I will likely never see those two women again, but they have imprinted on the spirit and on my soul, just as you will imprint on the spirit of the souls that you touch because you have joined this profession, and you do it with humility and courage, because it takes courage to have compassion. … I’ll remind you that compassion is your superpower.”

Speakers throughout the entire graduation ceremony focused on the impact nurses make.

Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, UMB provost and executive vice president, officially conferred graduates’ degrees. His message was clear: Nurses and the work they do change, and save, lives.

“I wish to take this opportunity to remind you and to reaffirm with you that, notwithstanding what some may say, nurses are professionals. … I can say without equivocation that if nurses aren’t professionals, I don’t know which profession is,” Ward said. “We, your faculty, the leadership of this university, the patients you serve and will continue to serve, and anyone anywhere who has sought medical care know that your profession is the backbone and foundation of every health care ecosystem.”

Later in the ceremony, Angyeaba N. Aparandi, a BSN graduate, and Abel Salmon, a master’s entry-into-nursing graduate, received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Students. DAISY awards are given each fall and spring to two graduating entry-into-nursing students who demonstrate outstanding compassion and care to patients and their families. Tabitha Legambi, DNP ’19, BSN ’02, RN, CEN, CNE, assistant professor, received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty, which is given to nursing faculty in recognition of their commitment to education and for their inspirational influence on students. 

As the graduates listened, along with family and friends, Wang encouraged them to think of the tremendous impact the Class of 2025 will make on the world.

“One day, someone you have never met will be sitting in the darkest moment of their life,” he said. “They will be shaken, they will be terrified, and they will get ready to despair, and we will be the ones who walk in, not because we’re fearless, but because we understand their pain. Not because we carry perfection, but because we’ve been through this. And in that moment, everything we struggled, everything we endured, and everything we thought might break us will become the reason someone else survives, and that is nursing.”

See a slideshow of photos from the event: