{"id":129018,"date":"2026-01-19T15:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T21:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=129018"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:21:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:21:35","slug":"december-grads-hooded-feted-at-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/01\/19\/december-grads-hooded-feted-at-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"December grads hooded, feted at convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When Jed Hansen, PhD, received the invitation to serve as keynote speaker for UNMC Graduate Studies December Honors Convocation Ceremony, he had an overwhelming feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere must be another Jed Hansen out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no. Dr. Hansen, a UNMC Graduate Studies alumnus, nurse practitioner and rural health advocate, was exactly the right person to offer advice and insights to the soon-to-be graduating class of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Alumnus Jed Hansen, PhD, gave the keynote address.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Please click here<\/a> for a photo album of the honors convocation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please click here<\/a> for a video replay of the ceremony.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNMC Graduate Studies honored a dozen soon-to-be graduates who were about to earn master\u2019s degrees, more than two dozen with Master of Science degrees and more than 50 with Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The degrees were conferred later that day at UNMC\u2019s December 2025 commencement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The convocation included the traditional hooding of degree candidates by mentors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louise Dow, Abigail Hall, Natalia Santos, Gabrielle Schulze, Kasturi Siddhanta and Mark Primeaux were honored as UNMC Graduate Students of Distinction. Each has since earned the credential of PhD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hansen, executive director, Nebraska Rural Health Association, assured the class of 2025 that it was ready to \u201cdo hard things,\u201d in part because its members had already done so during their respective educations at UNMC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGraduating from UNMC isn\u2019t just a line on a resume,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a signal. It\u2019s proof that you\u2019ve already endured hard things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achieving these degrees is not easy, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was hard because it mattered,\u201d Dr. Hansen said. \u201cIt was hard because it required you to grow. It was hard because it asked something of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued: \u201cYou are part of a generation that will accomplish much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t do it all at once. You won\u2019t do it alone. But you will do it with the same grit that got you here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Jed Hansen, PhD, received the invitation to serve as keynote speaker for UNMC Graduate Studies December Honors Convocation Ceremony, he had an overwhelming feeling. \u201cThere must be another Jed Hansen out there,\u201d he said. But no. Dr. Hansen, a UNMC Graduate Studies alumnus, nurse practitioner and rural health advocate, was exactly the right person […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":129019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3735,3736],"class_list":["post-129018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-nursing","tag-rural-health","department-graduate-studies","department-graduate-studies-newsletter","author_override-kalani-simpson-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"\nDecember grads hooded, feted at convocation<\/title>\n<meta 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