Convocation celebrates student excellence, new chapter for School
By Nora Williamson
Thursday, September 17, 2026
The University of Rochester School of Nursing & Health Sciences welcomed new and returning students, recognized outstanding student achievement, and marked the beginning of a new chapter during its annual Convocation ceremony on Sept. 8.
Held in Helen Wood Hall Auditorium, the ceremony brought together students, faculty, staff, alumni, families, and University and health system leaders to begin the academic year. It also marked the School’s official transition to the University of Rochester School of Nursing & Health Sciences, reflecting its continued commitment to nursing education while expanding opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, research, and care.
University leaders — including President Sarah Mangelsdorf, Provost Nicole S. Sampson, URMC CEO and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences David C. Linehan, MD, and URochester Medicine Chief Nursing Executive E. Kate Valcin, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNL, FCCM — welcomed students and reflected on the importance of nursing and health sciences professionals in advancing compassionate, evidence-based care.Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, noted that more than 500 new students have joined the School since January and that the student body now includes more than 900 learners.
“Together, we will build a School rooted in nursing, strengthened by the health sciences, and committed to improving lives,” Kitko said.
During the ceremony, the School recognized eight students whose scholarship, leadership, service, and commitment to improving care exemplify the values of the School of Nursing & Health Sciences. The following students received annual Convocation awards:
Clare Dennison Prize: Benjamin Klei
Benjamin Klei, an accelerated bachelor’s in nursing student, received the Clare Dennison Prize, which recognizes an undergraduate student for outstanding proficiency in general nursing care.
Klei came to nursing with a background in emergency medical services and service in the U.S. Marine Corps. His experience as an EMT helped shape his ability to remain calm under pressure, communicate clearly, and collaborate in fast-paced health care environments. Through clinical experiences in pediatrics, medical-surgical nursing, and psychiatric nursing, he has continued to strengthen his clinical judgment, patient education, and critical-thinking skills.
Klei is committed to delivering compassionate, evidence-based care to diverse patient populations and plans to continue growing as a nurse while making a meaningful contribution to his community.
Eleanor Hall Award: Ashantay Cooper
Ashantay Cooper, RN, a master’s student in the Nursing Education program, received the Eleanor Hall Award, which recognizes an outstanding master’s student.
Cooper is a GYN operating room nurse at a URochester Medicine-affiliated institution, where she serves as the primary service nurse in POD 5. As she pursues her master’s degree, her coursework has focused on simulation-based education, curriculum design, and evidence-based teaching. She has designed an intraoperative code-blue simulation scenario, taught in the undergraduate nursing lab, and mentored newer staff members on her unit.
Working toward Level III nurse status and participating in the Nursing Wellness Committee under the mentorship of Becki Vincent, Cooper is building toward her long-term goal of becoming an operating room educator. She is passionate about preparing the next generation of confident and competent perioperative nurses.
Michele Unger Leadership Award: Kara Joustra
Kara Joustra, BSN, RN, CCRN, 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 and character of Michele Unger, the former associate director of the Leadership in Healthcare Master’s Program and a nursing leader at Strong Memorial Hospital who died in 2013.
Joustra is the quality and safety director for the Musculoskeletal Service Line at URochester Medicine. A critical care and perianesthesia nurse by background, she has built her career around improving patient safety, quality, staff development, and psychological safety.
Her work has included leading interdisciplinary quality initiatives, developing innovative staff education, strengthening critical-care readiness in the PACU, and presenting nationally on perianesthesia policy improvement. Joustra is especially passionate about translating data into action and helping improvement work feel practical, collaborative, and human.
Jill Thayer Dissertation Award: Sudhir Mummidi
Sudhir Mummidi, MBBS, RN, a PhD student, received the Jill Thayer Dissertation Award, which recognizes doctoral research that demonstrates a commitment to personalizing or enhancing health care encounters and access to care.
Mummidi brings a diverse foundation in clinical practice and scientific research to his doctoral work. After graduating from medical school in India and practicing as a physician, he developed an enduring interest in the electrophysiology of heart failure. He later earned a Master of Science in Experimental Pathology from New York Medical College before completing the Accelerated Bachelor’s in Nursing program at the University of Rochester.
His doctoral research uses pre-implant 12-lead electrocardiogram data to refine selection for primary-prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators within the established MADIT-ICD benefit framework. Mummidi has presented his work at the International Society of Computerized Electrocardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Eastern Nursing Research Society. He has authored five peer-reviewed publications, has 11 additional manuscripts in preparation, and recently received the Epsilon Xi Research Grant Award.
George Spencer Terry Jr. B’49 Endowed Fund in Nursing Award: Courtney Blackwood
Courtney Blackwood, MS, RN, NE-BC, a Doctor of Nursing Practice student, received the George Spencer Terry Jr. B’49 Endowed Fund in Nursing Award. The award recognizes a DNP student who is developing innovative solutions to challenges facing nurses, health care providers, and students.
Blackwood is senior director of Behavioral Health Nursing at University of Rochester Medicine, where she provides executive leadership for inpatient, comprehensive psychiatric emergency, ambulatory, and specialty behavioral health services. With nearly two decades of nursing experience, including 15 years in health care leadership, she has advanced behavioral health through operational excellence, workforce innovation, clinical simulation, and quality improvement.
She has presented nationally on clinical simulation, nursing retention, inclusive leadership, and innovative staffing models, and she is lead author of a peer-reviewed manuscript published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. A 2023 Rochester Business Journal Healthcare Hero Award recipient, Blackwood also completed the Healthcare Business Alliance Fellowship through the Northstar Network, serves on the YWCA Board of Directors, and is board certified as a nurse executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Katharine Donohue Scholarly Practitioner Award: Vanessa Riley
Vanessa Riley, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, a PhD student, received the Katharine Donohue Scholarly Practitioner Award.
Riley is a family nurse practitioner whose research focuses on neighborhood exposures among African American women with cardiovascular risk. She began her nursing career as an LPN and has more than 15 years of experience spanning infectious disease, hospital medicine, and nursing administration.
She serves as chief information officer on the executive board of the Infectious Disease Nurse Practitioner Society of America and co-authored a manuscript submitted to the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners proposing an infectious diseases nurse practitioner subspecialty certification. Riley is also founder and president of the Global Nursing AI Alliance and CEO of the American Board of Nursing Artificial Intelligence, where she initiated an inaugural Nursing AI Competency Framework. She has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 nominee and a Black Impact Magazine 26 of 2026 cover honoree.
Loretta Ford Fellowship: Emma Kelly
Emma Kelly, RN, a PhD student and graduate of the School’s 12-month Accelerated Bachelor’s in Nursing program, received the Loretta Ford Fellowship.
Kelly completed the ABSN program in May 2024 and works as a registered nurse in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU at Golisano Children’s Hospital. Her interest in research was renewed through the Hospital Research Practicum, which she completed this past spring.
During the practicum, Kelly conducted a quality-improvement project examining sound levels in a pediatric intensive care unit and their potential impact on postoperative delirium. She also gained research experience during her first bachelor’s degree, when she co-authored a paper investigating DNA damage and repair mechanisms.
Through doctoral study, Kelly hopes to combine her clinical and research interests on how hormonal contraceptives impact fetal outcomes and contribute to the future of pediatric cardiac nursing.
Student Engagement and Enrichment Award: Cynthia Harrison-Obi
Cynthia Harrison-Obi, an accelerated bachelor’s in nursing student, received the Student Engagement and Enrichment Award.
Harrison Obi brings a background in human rights law and health care to her nursing education. She holds advanced law degrees and worked as a health care assistant in the United Kingdom for nearly three years — an experience that confirmed nursing as her calling.
At the University of Rochester, she has been actively involved with Street Outreach, a student-run initiative that supports individuals experiencing homelessness in Rochester. Through outreach in shelters and community settings, she has worked alongside physicians, nurses, and fellow students to connect people with health care and social services and distribute essential resources.
Harrison Obi is passionate about patient advocacy, health equity, and dignity-centered care. As a future nurse, she hopes to draw on her human-rights background to advance practices that protect patients’ rights, health, and well-being.
The awards presentation was part of a Convocation ceremony that welcomed students at a pivotal moment for the School: its first academic year as the School of Nursing & Health Sciences. The School’s new name reflects a future grounded in nursing and strengthened by collaborative health sciences education, research, and practice.