Ceremony Highlights Bravery, Perseverance of December 2024 Graduating Class

Baltimore, Md. - One year ago this month, LyAvia Patterson, BSN ’24, was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. 

It was a shock for the then 40-year-old mother of two, especially as she was deeply engaged in completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), something she’d quit her job to do. 

Finding out there was a mass in her colon, and that the cancer had spread to her liver, was shocking. But for Patterson, there was only one path forward. 

“I've been pushing through — just persevering. It’s all I can do. I have children, I have a husband, I have family that I have to live for,” she said, later adding, “I don’t want sympathy. I want people to recognize that there are going to be challenges in life, you know? There will be adversity that you have to get through, that you just have to push. You have to push through for your goals, for your family, for your own self.”

This week, Patterson celebrated her success at pushing through as she strode across the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, officially a graduate of the BSN program. 

On Dec. 18, more than 250 graduates and their family and friends celebrated success during UMSON’s Graduation ceremony, during which 194 BSN degrees, 59 master’s degrees, three Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, four Doctor of Philosophy degrees, and four certificates were conferred. Just shy of 200 entry-into-nursing students graduated, ready to enter the workforce.

“We offer our very sincere congratulations to those of you who are receiving your first degree in nursing. You will begin your career at a time when nursing presents unparalleled possibilities,” 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. “No other profession offers such a diverse range of career paths and opportunities for professional development. Moreover, very few professions afford you the privilege of having a significant impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. On behalf of the School of Nursing, I hope you will be as happy and as fulfilled in your nursing career as I have been for the past 37 years.”
    
During the ceremony, Renz Mae Carbo, BSN graduate, and Brandi Nicole Ridenour, Master of Science in Nursing Clinical Nurse Leader 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. Kristin Bussell, PhD ’19, MS ’98, BSN ’84, CRPN-PMH, 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. 

Marc Salmo Llacuna, BSN ’24, gave the student remarks during Wednesday’s ceremony. He highlighted the unique path he took to get to nursing school, including a degree in engineering and more than a decade of U.S. military service. But after his time in the Army, Llacuna said he didn’t know what his purpose in life was anymore. 

Nursing changed that.

“You see, nursing is not only a profession, it is a commitment to compassion, to healing and to patient advocacy, and that’s why I’m so honored to stand in front of all of these brave men and women who have decided to join me on the front lines of health care and fight against disease and suffering,” he said in his address. 

“I used the word brave because remember three to five years ago, everyone here began their journey, and three to five years ago, we were at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and droves of health care workers were leaving the field because they were worried about their health and well-being. They were overworked. But everybody in front of you stood up, rose their hand and said, ‘Take me. I'm ready to serve the American people.’ So, thank you. Thank you for your commitment. If that’s not brave, then I don’t know what brave is.”

That theme of bravery, perseverance, and pushing through — especially when life gets hard — underscored the entire ceremony, including during the keynote address from Capt. Aisha K. Brooks, DNP, MPH, RN, FADLN, FAAN. 

Brooks, a senior health policy administrator in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps, has spent nearly three decades as a nurse. But it wasn’t easy getting there. 

“I became a mother in high school at the age of 15, and with all the knowledge skills maturity of a 15-year-old, I became a mom again at the age of 16,” she said during her speech. “So, you can imagine that there were a number of people who did not believe that my life would amount to much. There were many people who created obstacles for me academically because they were certain that I did not have what it took to complete my education. What held me down, though, is not only a supportive family, but a sense of self and the fortitude to believe that my circumstances absolutely did not define who I was at that moment, nor who I would become.”

For Patterson, if it weren’t for her diagnosis and this experience, she would not have known what area of nursing she wanted to go into. 

Now, she’s sure. 

“I knew I wanted to go back to school to be a nurse practitioner and treat patients in the outpatient setting, but after school, I didn’t have an idea of what I want to do,” Patterson said. “It’s the silver lining that I figured out what I wanted to do — I want to focus on oncology. That’s the specialty that I would like to go into.”

She now has a deeper appreciation for what oncology patients are dealing with because of her own experience, Patterson said. She can empathize because she has been there herself. 

“It’s going to really change how I treat my patients,” she said, adding, “I just want to be that person that they can rely on, be that person they can talk to, be that person that is going to advocate for them.”

photo: LyAvia Patterson, BSN '24, waves to the audience as she crosses the stage in front of Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD '11, MS '05, BSN '05, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, immediately to Patterson's left. Patterson's husband, her invited pinner, is pictured at right.

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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 nearly 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.