2020 Commencement: A Virtual Celebration

The event was followed by a live Zoom program to acknowledge graduates for their achievements and provide an opportunity for them to share comments and well wishes with faculty and fellow students.

Dean James M. O’Donnell, PhD, addressed the graduates with optimism for their future. “We have seen the introduction of new terms and acronyms: COVID-19, PPE, community spread, social distancing and Zoom,” he said. “However, the advent of these new terms has also brought a reemergence of even stronger terms: altruism, empathy, compassion and communication.”

“I hope these are the terms you will remember when you look back on this time, remember the inspiring ability of humanity to come together in times of adversity and elevate the common good.”

Mark Sinnett, BS ’83 and PharmD ’87, was the keynote speaker, offering students his tips for success in the pharmacy profession. “You are all leaders, leading both the patient and health care provider to the most effective and safe pharmacotherapy,” he remarked. “There is no professional more up to the task.”

Sinnett is director of clinical and educational services and former director of the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency for the Department of Pharmacy at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y. He is an ASHP fellow, a 1999 ASHP Best Practices in Health-system Pharmacy Management awardee, and was honored as the 2014 recipient of the school’s Orville C. Baxter Memorial Professional Practice Award.

PharmD Class of 2020 president Marissa Guszkowski reflected on the graduates’ personal and professional growth during their time in pharmacy school. “I’m so grateful for the past four years with you all,” she said. “You became my family, and I’m so lucky I got to meet all of you.”

In addition to degree conferrals, more than 35 student awards were presented at the ceremony to recognize high academic achievement and professionalism.