Thursday, September 15, 2011
PRINCESS ANNE, MD-(September 15, 2011) The 125th Founders’ Week Convocation at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was a momentous occasion for the university and for 26 students who received their Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees.
Graduate Maureen Hirsch of Fallston, Md., said, “It (graduation) means I’m done. I get to get a job. It’s been eight years of hard work.” Her mom, Terry, added, “It means independence and relief. No, really, we are proud of her accomplishment.”
Hirsch is part of the university’s largest class of physical therapy students to graduate since the doctoral program began in 2005. She joins 22 other Marylanders; seven are from Delmarva.
The next step for the graduates is to sit for the professional licensure exam in October, Janet Mutschler, director of clinical education for the program, said. “They are lining up their jobs and are waiting to be licensed to start,” she said. “From what I hear, they have received offers from acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals and outpatient centers.”
Every UMES graduate since the doctoral program’s inception has earned the professional licensing credential.
Dr. Mortimer Neufville, UMES’ interim president, said the 125th birthday is a celebration of university’s “legacy of caring and excellence and of accepting students with dreams and visions.”
Keynote speaker, university alumna and actress Starletta DuPois, opened her address with a stirring rendition of an old African-American spiritual “Hold On a Little While Longer.”
Photo caption:
UMES students received their Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees at today’s 125th Founders’ Week Convocation. Pictured from left to right, (front row) Rupa Patel, Laurel, De.; Jessica Ofano, Cambridge, Md.; Ashley Landskroener, Chestertown, Md.; Brian Lee, Gaithersburg, Md.; Elizabeth Mason, Salisbury, Md.; Dr. Mortimer Neufville, UMES’ interim president; Maureen Hirsch, Fallston, Md.; Kathleen Diffily, Branchville, N.J.; Lindsay Ettinger, Pasadena, Md.; Calice Warlock, Silver Spring, Md.; (second row) Barbara Wise, Princess Anne, Md.; Joshua Ferguson, Hollywood, Md.; Isaac Kloch, Hurlock, Md.; Kristen Fiackos, Ellicott City, Md.; Ellen Kuhn, Bowie, Md.; Sarah Anderson, Bowie, Md.; (top row) Edmund Scarborough, Forest Hill, Md.; Elliot Moore, Biglerville, Pa.; Cordia Reilly, Hillsboro, Md.; Christopher Gardner, Severna Park, Md.; Tanya Dickson, Hebron, Md.; Michelle Thompson, Catonsville, Md.; Jessica Edwards, Severna Park, Md.; Quentin Campbell, Hagerstown, Md.; and Samuel Singleton, Baltimore, Md. Not pictured are Danielle Ethier of Westminster, Md., and Chidube Okechukwu of Laurel, Md.
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Gail Stephens, assistant director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-651-7580, gcstephens@umes.ex
