{"id":135569,"date":"2026-10-22T09:16:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=135569"},"modified":"2026-10-22T09:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:59:55","slug":"matriculation-ceremony-sets-tone-for-coming-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/10\/22\/matriculation-ceremony-sets-tone-for-coming-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Matriculation ceremony sets tone for coming year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UNMC Graduate Studies welcomed \u2013 both in person and online – nearly 160 new students from 11 countries during its Aug. 18 matriculation ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them: A cadre beginning their Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was my dream school since undergrad,\u201d said Mariem Hassan, an international student from Egypt who attended Tuesday\u2019s ceremony at the Durham Research Center. Previously a teaching assistant, she said she learned of UNMC through a STEM friend at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the ceremony, Hassan met fellow classmates Adrian Dominguez and Lauren Marren, each with their own unique backstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"EdagwaGS\"
Benson Edagwa, PhD, of the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, spoke at the event.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dominguez said he packed his bags and drove 1,500 miles from Orange County, California, to Omaha for graduate school. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to study out of state,\u201d he said, acknowledging he thought he\u2019d end up in North Carolina or Texas, until he came across UNMC and saw what it had to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marren, on the other hand, settled quickly on UNMC. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, she graduated from Creighton University before enrolling at UNMC. \u201cI love the Omaha area and wanted to stay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, we celebrate the beginning of your academic career at UNMC\u2026and we look forward to all that you will achieve,\u201d said Karen Gould, PhD, MEd, interim dean of graduate studies, in welcoming the new students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View event photos in this Flickr album<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benson Edagwa, PhD, professor in the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, shared words of encouragement and advice while giving the keynote address as the 2026 Distinguished Mentor for Graduate Students honoree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, on behalf of UNMC Graduate Studies, Jered Garrison, PhD, interim assistant dean, honored two returning graduate students – Evanjalina Matoy and Ridhi Bhola – with the Derry-Crouse Emerging Leader awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n