NHS Welcomes Newest Class

The School of Nursing & Health Studies welcomed members of the Class of 2011 at a reception in Copley Formal Lounge on Saturday, Aug. 25.

"I am thrilled to see this new group of students," NHS Dean Bette Keltner told the 112 newest Hoyas who had gathered along with their families. "It's always an exciting time of year."

The event--sponsored by the NHS Parents Council--provided an opportunity for the group to take a break from the scorching Washington heat. Students and families also heard from Bill Strait and Mike Seergy, co-chairs of the Parents Council.

"Dean Bette Keltner is no doubt, you'll come to know, on the cutting-edge of everything health care," Seergy said, noting innovative NHS facilities, including the Discovery Center and the forthcoming Situation Room. Seergy's daugther, Madeline, is now a senior at NHS.

"You come over the Key Bridge, and you see the school--a school on the hill," Strait said, remembering his own experiences moving in his three children, Cathrina (C'03), Greg (NHS'05), and Christine (NHS'08).

In her remarks, Keltner noted the strength of the incoming students, highlighting that most of them were in the top 5 percent of their graduating high school class.

"There is a reason we chose you, and you chose us," she said.

To close the event, students met with their respective department chair, including Gary Filerman, Ph.D., in health systems administration; Charles Evans, M.D., Ph.D., in human science, Bernhard Liese, M.D., in international health, and Michael Relf, Ph.D., in nursing.