Nurses to seek 'a deeper send of
caring'
39 students realize their
dreams by graduating for 2-year program at the College of Staten
Island
Staten Island Advance - June 2, 2004
With a bit of pomp and circumstance, 39 nursing
students from the College of Staten Island were pinned during their
graduation ceremony yesterday, held in the Willowbrook college’s
Center for the Arts.
The graduates, ranging in age from their early 20s
to their 6os, were rewarded for their achievement in the two-year
program with gold pins and associate’s degrees in applied sciences.
As the graduates entered the room to the music of
The Michael Consolmagno Band, which was led by a CSI alumnus, the
students’ friends and family clapped and cheered for their loved
ones.
“Way to go, Julie,” graduate Julie Pascarella’s
family members shouted during the ceremony.
Prior to the ceremony her sister, Lisa Mazza of New
Dorp, said how proud the family was.
“First of all, she spent two years with her face in
the books. It’s a big accomplishment,” Ms. Mazza said.
Faculty members also expressed their joy and offered
advice to the graduates as they addressed the audience.
“Always seek to be and do your best, your clients
deserve it and so do you,” said Professor Linda Reese, chairwoman of
the nursing department. “Your career as a nurse teaches you that
your life is precious. Treat it that way.”
Guest speaker Wayne Paul, a recent graduate of the
baccalaureate nursing program at CSI who has been accepted to the
State University of New York’s Downstate Campus in Brooklyn,
delivered an important message to the graduates. “A deeper sense of
caring is what separates nurses from other health care providers.
It’s what makes us unique,” he said.
Student speaker Kerry McGuire echoed Paul’s words.
“You go to school to be a nurse, but it takes a
human being to be a good nurse,” she said.
After the speeches, the lights were dimmed and the graduates recited
the International Council of Nurses’ Pledge as they held Nightingale
lamps. A slideshow was shown while the band played Kelly Clarkson’s
song, “A Moment Like This.”
“It’s always been a dream,” said graduate Lois
Shanahan of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, who received her nursing degree
after working on Wall Street for 15 years. She plans to further her
career by taking the National Council Licensure Examination to
become a registered nurse, getting a job and pursuing a bachelor’s
degree.
“It has to be a heartfelt desire, and I know in my
heart I picked the right occupation,” she said.
Graduate Kathleen Colini of New Dorp had two dreams
fulfilled this week. Six days before graduating, Mrs. Colini gave
birth to her fourth child, Christian. One of her teachers was nice
enough to let her take her final exam a few days earlier, so it
would not interfere with her due date, she said.
“I can’t believe I did it,” she said. “If not for
the support of my family, especially my husband, who was my
cheerleader, and my children, I don’t think I would have made it to
the end.”
The graduates are:
Cynthia Opuni Agyei, Suzanne A. Annab, Nicole Assouline, Decreshia
M. Beatty, Andrea Cazassus-Baladi, Melissa Ann Ciccarelii, Kathleen
Colini, Nicole M. Colombo, Angela
Cugini, Suvada Durakovic, Wendy Durbifl, Julianna Dzissah, Morufu
Emiola, Johna Ann
Fasino, Debra Forrester, Ketsia Ganthier, Mimma Gaudio, Zhana Gelman,
Cheryl L.
Hamer, Gail C. Hamm, Oyadiran M. Idowu, Debra Ippolito, Mike M.
Kadro, Stacey 1.
Mandella, Michelle M. Martin, Erin McAllen, Kerry McGuire, Patricia
Mettle, Erin F. Nichols, Daniel S. O’Sullivan, Julie Pascarella,
Rosie Perez, Jennifer Peterson, Louise E. Rice, Lois R. Shanahan,
Farrah Shereyil Sy, Alberta Sykes, Angela Tardi and Maybelline Yepez-Atwood.
by Andrea Boyarsky
Reprinted here with permission from the
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