“We Showed Grit”: UMSON Class of 2025 Steps Into Nursing’s Next Era

Baltimore, Md. - Don’t tell Hiu Yu Chan, BSN ’25, that the American Dream is dead. 

As she walked across the stage of Baltimore’s historic Hippodrome Theatre on May 20, one of 454 graduates in the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Class of 2025, she proved it is alive and well.

Chan, the selected student speaker for the first of UMSON’s two Convocation ceremonies, came to the United States from Hong Kong just four years ago, “chasing the American Dream,” she said, and pursued a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree against the odds. With English as a second language and little cultural familiarity, she said every lecture and textbook required her to review material multiple times to grasp both the content and the context. But she was determined to follow her passion to earn her degree and become a nurse.

“Today, we celebrate more than just a degree,” Chan said. “We celebrate survival, growth, and resilience.“

She said she was full of doubt and insecurity and often asked herself, “Am I really good enough to be a nurse?”

Convocation proved that she was. And that she was not alone.

“Let me say this from the bottom of my heart,” Chan said. “I came to the United States chasing the American Dream and today, standing here in my cap and gown, I know that dream has come true.”

During UMSON’s two ceremonies — a morning celebration for BSN and entry-into-nursing Master of Science in Nursing Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) graduates and an afternoon event for other master’s and doctoral graduates — the School conferred 231 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, 89 master’s degrees, 126 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees, two PhDs, and six certificates, resulting in 259 new nurses entering the workforce.

The ceremonies spotlighted perseverance as a defining trait of the Class of 2025.

“You worked hard, you stayed up late, you started your day early. You sacrificed so much,” 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 and professor, in her opening remarks. “Yes, you truly earned your degree, and you should be proud of your accomplishments.”

Ogbolu emphasized that nursing is not only a career but a privilege — one that shapes lives, families, and communities. “On behalf of the School, I hope that all of you will be as happy and fulfilled in your nursing careers as I have been for the past 38 years,” she said.

Ogbolu recognized the Class of 2025 for having the most graduates receiving Latin honors — cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude — since 2011 and for its high number of applications for the student speaker opportunities and nominations for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Students.

The DAISY Award was awarded to Kadria Azariah Sadr, a graduate of the entry BSN program, and Verity Alys White, a graduate of the master’s CNL option. DAISY Awards are given each fall and spring to two graduating entry-into-nursing graduates who demonstrate empathetic care and service to patients and their families. The award was created by The DAISY Foundation to remind students, even during their hardest days in nursing school, why they chose to become a nurse.

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), conferred the degrees, telling the graduates, “Not only are you graduating from the greatest nursing school in this country, but you have been instructed by the greatest faculty of nursing in this country.”

In the afternoon ceremony, Ogbolu praised the graduates as a class that modeled UMB’s core values of Innovation and Discovery, finding new ways to advance health care through their education, research, quality improvement projects, and policy.

“They are the tangible embodiment of our mission to develop the next generation of great nurse leaders,” she said.

The 2025 Dean’s Medal for Distinguished Service, which each year recognizes someone external to the School who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to advancing UMSON and its mission, was presented to Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, president and chief executive officer of the National League for Nursing, who provided the keynote address in the afternoon ceremony.

In her remarks, Malone urged graduates to “pack” what they’ll need for the journey ahead: a GPS for direction, values like caring and integrity, trusted mentors — and to leave behind hesitation and imposter syndrome.

“You need to step into your greatness and say, ‘Look at me!’,” she said. “I’m here to serve. I’m ready to be a part of the system.”

At the afternoon master’s and doctoral ceremony, student speaker Alex Hatcher, a DNP graduate of the Nurse Anesthesia specialty, recalled how she received a book from Jacqueline C. Mitchell, PhD ’25, MS ’07, CRNA, FAANA, director of clinical education, on the first day of orientation; Mitchell was in the audience as one of the two PhD graduates. The book, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” by Angela Duckworth, left a lasting impression on Hatcher and reminded her of her fellow graduates. 

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” Hatcher said, quoting from the book. “Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out. Not just for the month, but for years. And working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Hatcher added, “This journey was not easy, in fact it was the most challenging and the most demanding goal I’ve ever worked toward, and there were many times when giving up seemed like the only option. But we didn’t. We showed grit.”

###

The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling more than 2,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.