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Thunderous applause echoed through the Anderson Center’s Osterhout Theater on Thursday morning as the fifth doctoral hooding ceremony for ���غ���’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was a day to remember. 73 students received either a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences degree or a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor Kanneboyina Nagaraju started the ceremony by commending the new Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Science graduates for helping the school earn national recognition.

“As a young pharmacy school, we too have grown — and your class embodies that growth,” he said. “In a short time, we’ve earned national recognition. We now lead the state with one of the top first-time NAPLEX pass rates. Our postgraduate residency match rate ranks among the highest in the country. These achievements are a testament to the dedication of our faculty and staff, and to your hard work.”

Nagaraju also praised the graduates’ commitment to the school, giving them the tools necessary to make a positive change and setting them up for success in the world of pharmacy.

“Your commitment has paid off, and you are now poised to make an impact on the profession of pharmacy and the future of pharmaceutical science,” he said. “You may pursue careers in community or hospital pharmacy, direct patient care, drug development or the pharmaceutical industry. Wherever your path leads, you are prepared to practice at the top of your license and lead with confidence and compassion.”

Nagaraju left the graduates with a word of advice and a vote of confidence: “The pharmacy profession is evolving, and your success will depend on your ability to adapt and lead through change. I see many of our PharmD graduates becoming key players in primary care and public health, and our MS graduates driving innovation in drug discovery and development.”

President Harvey Stenger picked up where Nagaraju left off, saying, “You don the traditional garb that sets you apart as scholars and scientists — the gown and hood that signal the wearer has achieved mastery of their subject matter and has produced new knowledge in your field.”

Stenger also took a moment to address the crowd, thanking them for the support and love they have given these new graduates.

“I do want to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the friends and family who are here today or are here with us in spirit,” he said. “Your endless support and guidance has meant the world to these students. You have propelled and inspired them through years of study, struggles and successes. We celebrate you today alongside the graduates.”

Stenger then turned his attention back to the students, sharing that because of their work in the classroom and labs, they are ready to be leaders throughout the pharmaceutical industry.

“You’ve received a strong grounding in the latest advances in pharmacy, and in related fields including genomics, biotechnology and geriatrics,” he said. “You’ve also developed important skills in managerial science, hospital practice and healthcare ethics, and you have practical hands-on experience from clinical work and interprofessional relationships that allow you to assess patients holistically.”

Stenger concluded by emphasizing the importance of these new graduates in the world of pharmacy and science.

“We need you to be leaders for the field’s promising yet complex future – solving problems while delivering low-cost, lifesaving drugs through responsible and responsive pharmacies,” he said. “There is a great demand for people with your skills, either as a pharmacist or a pharmaceutical researcher. There’s also an ever-present demand for people who understand both evolving technologies and the human element of healthcare. We need you. And you’re ready.”

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Donald Hall then took the stage, praising the graduates for bringing their intellectual curiosity, work ethic and sense of humor to the campus.

“As you graduate from ���غ���, you will take with you what you have learned in your classes, laboratories, participation in student organizations and through the thousands of personal interactions you have had with those around you,” he said. “You will take all that you have experienced here and become change-makers in the ever-evolving field of pharmacy.”

Hall then highlighted the effect that the pandemic had on education and how these graduates overcame it.

“We are all living in a different world since the pandemic upended our lives, but your ���غ��� education and experiences will serve you well, whether you choose to work in a community or hospital setting, or elsewhere in the pharmaceutical industry,” he said. “As newly minted Masters and Doctors of Pharmacy, you are leaving us with a strong foundation in your discipline. You have honed your critical-thinking, decision-making and communication skills, and you have completed rigorous clinical rotations and a capstone research project that will give you an edge as you pursue your pharmacy career.”

This year’s keynote speaker was Bob Garrett ’79, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. Garrett shared his enthusiasm for the new graduates and their accomplishments.

“You should be so proud that you have reached this milestone,” he said. “We are grateful for your talent, energy, compassion and humanity and we need you more than ever. You went through so much to get to this day. Overcoming the nerves of freshmen year, juggling intense coursework and hands-on training and in the last weeks, no doubt, pulling all-nighters.”

Alumni Association President Cara Treidel ’16 welcomed the new graduates into the ���غ��� alumni community that stretches around the world.

“In addition to the friends you made here on campus, you’ll now have a worldwide network of alumni that you can tap into — nearly 160,000 people in more than 100 countries,” she said. “Wherever you go, there is likely to be a ���غ��� grad who can offer support, answer questions or just chat about shared ���غ��� experiences.”

Nicholas Lukan, the Class of 2025 graduate student speaker, touched on what these last four years have meant to him and his classmates, and he shared how emotional, but rewarding, the journey to Commencement has been.

“Throughout these past four years, I have seen all of us go through so much: joy, sadness, laughter, anger and so much more,” he said. “But through these four years, I have also seen something else in all of you: growth. I and so many others have been able to witness firsthand the evolution of us not only as students or pharmacists but as people.

“It is because of all our experiences, all our hardships, all our pain, that we were able to shatter our own limits and push ourselves beyond to greater heights that some of us never thought we would be able to when we started this program, myself included.”

Lukan asked his classmates not to let graduation be the end of their accomplishments, but to let it be one of the many pillars that will elevate them and drive them to accomplish their dreams.

“I don’t need a time machine to know that so many will change the world, whether it’s consoling a patient who is having a difficult time managing their medications or discovering the next groundbreaking drug that will change the world. We all have a part to play, big or small, and I don’t have a shadow of a doubt that we will all achieve greatness.

“From this point on, let’s all make a promise to ourselves and each other and that’s to never let anyone take this moment from us. Never let anyone take away this accomplishment, this degree from us because at the end of the day you did the work to get here. You took time and commitment to buckle down and do the work to make it to this day. So stand tall, my peers, and raise your head high and walk with me because after all the sacrifices, all of the pain, all of the doubt. We made it.”

Julia Napoli, PharmD ’22, wrapped up the ceremony by reciting the Oath of a Pharmacist with the 2025 cohort. The ceremony concluded with Nagaraju leading the audience and 2025 graduates singing the ���غ��� alma mater.