The health care workforce will welcome approximately 140 new professionals as the University of Tennessee Health Science Center conducts its Winter Commencement on Thursday, December 14. The graduates include seven from the College of Dentistry, 10 from the College of Graduate Health Sciences, 23 from the College of Health Professions, 30 from the College of Medicine, and 70 from the College of Nursing, an increase from the previous year’s winter graduation numbers.
Diana Sabin, who will graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, said she is fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.
“It was a nurse caring for my mother during her illness that inspired me to pursue this goal, even though I was already in another career,” Sabin said. “I hope to use the skills I have learned to support families in our community, just as the nurse caring for my mother supported me.”
Many UTHSC graduates continue to serve their alma mater, including Sabin, who will “pay it forward” by returning to help with the upcoming spring orientation. “At the end of their 17 months in the accelerated BSN program, they will become my colleagues, and ultimately their success will be a benefit to the entire nursing profession,” she said.
The Winter Commencement ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Betsy Brasher, senior vice president and relationship manager for First Tennessee Bank, will make the closing remarks and welcome the new graduates into the University of Tennessee Alumni Association. Brasher also is the UT Alumni Association president. Serving more than 378,000 alumni from five different campuses, the UT Alumni Association has been active since 1836, making it one of the oldest alumni associations in the country.