Those in attendance heard from Olympic silver medalist and UMKC alumni, Courtney Frerichs. She spoke at the “Roos in the City” commencement celebration. Frerichs raced to a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The event also featured eight graduate seniors named as Dean of Students Honor Recipients, including Victoria Pavlik who received her Bachelor of Health Sciences and was nominated by faculty member Matthew Chrisman. This program recognizes the exceptional students who maintain high scholastic performance while actively participating in university and community leadership and service activities outside of the classroom.

The school awarded 15 different degrees and certificates including 40 bachelors and 68 post-graduate degrees and certificates. Amongst the post-graduate degrees, the school saw a number of students reaching the highest academic degrees awarded by the school, Doctor of Nurse Practice (D.N.P.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Since 1997, the school has awarded more than 400 of these degrees. The students’ studies culminate with a dissertation and this year’s graduates covered a wide swath of the health care fields. Following is a list of the graduates and their dissertation titles as well their faculty chairs.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

  • Clayton Clark, Ph.D. – A Narrative Analysis of Spiritual Coping In Individuals with Terminal Heart Failure (Faculty chair Amanda Emerson, Ph.D.)
  • Lucy Joo-Castro, Ph.D. – Chamorus’ Narratives and Perceptions of Historical Trauma and Contemporary Health in Guam (Faculty chair Amanda Emerson, Ph.D.)
  • Amy Fry, Ph.D. – Nursing Faculty’s Experience of Faculty Bullying and it’s Impacts: A Qualitative Study (Faculty chair Carol Schmer, Ph.D.)
  • Sarah Patel, Ph.D. – Be Resilient: Examining the Relationship Between Staff Nurse Incivility and Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Sense of Belonging to the Nursing Profession (Faculty chair Matt Chrisman, Ph.D.)
  • Robyn Walter, Ph.D. – A Correlation Study Comparing the Relationship of Career Commitment on Perceived Academic Persistence Among Undergraduate Nursing Students (Faculty chair Carol Schmer, Ph.D.)

Doctor of Nurse Practice (D.N.P.)

  • Dinapoles Galvan, D.N.P. – E-Learning Modules for Nursing Faculty to Reduce ESL Student Attrition (Faculty chair Cheri Barber, D.N.P.)