Convocation Celebrates Student Excellence, Start of UR Nursing's Centennial Year

As the University of Rochester School of Nursing prepares for its 100th anniversary, the community kicked off the start of the academic year and celebrated student award winners at its annual Convocation ceremony on Sept. 2.

Across all academic programs, more than 230 students have joined the School of Nursing community from 15 states and six countries this Fall — joining a community of more than 800 current students who are advancing patient care, research, and education.

At the ceremony, University leaders shared their words of encouragement and appreciation for the Nursing community, including President Sarah Mangelsdorf, Provost Nicole Sampson, and URMC Chief Nursing Executive E. Kate Valcin, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNL, FCCM.

Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, reflected on the significance of starting the Fall semester during the School's centennial year. The School will turn 100 years old to the exact date later this month on Sept. 15. 

“From the very beginning in 1925, nurses have been at the center of education, discovery, and care here at the University of Rochester,” Kitko said. "Our founders understood, as we do now, that the best patient care begins with world-class education and a drive to innovate."

The following students were presented with annual awards for exemplifying the School of Nursing’s commitment to excellence: 

• N’Kulu Kibwe, a 12-month accelerated bachelor’s student, received the Clare Dennison Prize, which recognizes an undergraduate student for outstanding proficiency in general nursing care. Kibwe joined the School of Nursing from Bridgeport, Connecticut in Spring 2025, and plans to start his career as a cardiac nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital. Kibwe also works as a student ambassador, building bridges between prospective students and the School community. 
  
  
• Master’s in Nursing Education student Olga Osores, BSN, RN, RNFA, CNOR, received the Eleanor Hall Award, an annual honor that recognizes an outstanding master’s student. Osores is an RN First Assistant in the main operating room at Strong with more than a decade of experience in perioperative care, robotic surgery, and rehabilitation nursing.
  
  
• Casey Gorton, BSN, RN, a master’s student in the Clinical Nurse Leader program, received the Michele Unger Leadership Award. The award recognizes a student who exemplifies the life character of Michele Unger, the former associate director of the Leadership in Healthcare Master’s Program and a beloved nursing leader at Strong Memorial Hospital who passed away in 2013. Gorton is a cardiac ICU nurse, nurse educator, and as of Fall 2025, assistant director of nursing for the Cardiac Cath/EP Lab at Strong.
  
  
• PhD candidate Erin Vernetti, '13N, MS, RN, received the Jill Thayer Dissertation Award, an honor presented to a presented to a PhD student whose research demonstrates a commitment to personalizing or enhancing healthcare encounters and access to care. Her dissertation research addresses knowledge gaps in the study of female rape survivors by exploring the impact of stigma on their health outcomes. Vernetti also practices as an operating room nurse at Thompson Health in Canandaigua, and has worked as a nurse educator at Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing. In 2024, in recognition of her work as a researcher and educator, she was named a Jonas Scholar by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
  
  
• DNP student Rachelle Buchanan, ’20N, ’22N (MS), PMHNP-BC, received the George Spencer Terry Jr. B’49 Endowed Fund in Nursing Award, which is given to a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student who is developing innovative solutions to challenges facing nurses, healthcare providers, and students. She is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who is in the final year of her doctorate, focusing on supporting children and families with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. Buchanan co-owns Equilibrium Psychiatry and Integrative Medicine in Pittsford, New York, where she provides evidence-based, precision medicine for clients across the lifespan.

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