Nearly 200 earn diplomas during Wingate University graduate commencement

WINGATE — Gathered inside Cuddy Arena rather than on the Academic Quad because of this week’s wet weather, Wingate University students earning graduate degrees heard advice earlier today from someone who knows all about creating a frictionless work environment.

Daniel Gandarilla, senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Advocate Health, the parent company of Atrium Health, warned the nearly 200 new degree-earners that the unbalanced work groups they may have encountered throughout their academic life would continue.

How they deal with the perceived unfairness, he said, is the key.

“Being a collaborator doesn’t mean everyone pulls the same weight,” Gandarilla told graduates in his commencement address. “It means empowering everyone to succeed together, including at times needing to change roles to address strengths.”

Gandarilla was speaking to degree-holders in the fields of business, education, health care and sport management who were receiving diplomas during Wingate’s graduate commencement.

All told, over today and tomorrow, 588 students were eligible to walk across the commencement stage to receive their diplomas, including 198 graduate students (52 of whom will finish their degrees over the summer). Wingate’s undergraduate commencement is tomorrow at 9 a.m., in the Academic Quad.

Forty percent of those eligible to walk today (81) were earning doctor of pharmacy degrees. The next-highest number were earning master’s degrees in sport management (38), followed by occupational therapy (34). Students also earned degrees in business administration, accounting, education and public health.

If there’s one thing that binds together the jobs that these grads will move into, it’s that they’ll all have to work closely with others. Having plied his trade in human resources and talent acquisition for several years, Gandarilla is well placed to provide advice on how to create a productive and harmonious work environment.

As an example, he told graduates about having lifted up a poor performer by finding out what his passion was – podcasting – and incorporating it into their work.

“I asked him to help me create a podcast for my division of the company,” Gandarilla said. “By integrating his hobby into our work, not only did his engagement improve, but he also became a key player in enhancing our team’s communication.”

Katelynn Bodin, who earned her doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) today, found nothing but cooperative colleagues and faculty members at Wingate. The Huntsville, Ala., native had never heard of Wingate until her sister moved to North Carolina while Bodin was earning her undergraduate degree at Auburn University. She applied on a whim, figuring that it might be nice to spend a few years in another state.

“I went to the orientation and interviewed, and Dr. (Melissa) Sweetman sold me,” Bodin said of the program director. “I fell in love with it. I said, ‘I have to get in there. I just have to.’”

Sweetman impressed Bodin during the interview, and subsequently during the program, by demonstrating her willingness to listen to her students and integrate their feedback into the program. And Bodin said that Sweetman’s “just do it” attitude made Bodin more than ready for her required fieldwork assignment and, as a result, her career, which she says begins with a position doing outpatient occupational therapy at a hospital in her hometown.

“The program just kind of set the tone of ‘Go for it. You’re not going to learn unless you do,’” said Bodin, who graduated summa cum laude.

Bodin was one of six students recognized for receiving academic awards:

• School of Pharmacy valedictorian/Lilly Achievement Award: Jessi Dennis Edwards.
• OTD Leadership Award: Riley Hanline.
• OTD Service Award: Megan Merritt.
• OTD Scholarship Award: Jenna Patton.
• OTD Outstanding Fieldwork Student Award: Sarah Anne Hart.
• OTD Outstanding Doctoral Capstone Student Award: Bodin.

Callie Harlan, also a summa cum laude OTD graduate, from Laurens, S.C., said the program “provided an environment that fostered both professional and personal development.”

“It’s incredibly difficult to put into words just how thrilling this moment is,” said Harlan, who has accepted a position as an occupational therapist with Atrium’s CMC Main hospital in Charlotte. “Achieving this milestone and officially becoming a doctor of occupational therapy has been a dream of mine for a long time. This moment marks the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.”

Madison Wilson, a newly minted doctor of pharmacy from Mount Airy, especially appreciated the family-like atmosphere of the School of Pharmacy. The next stop for the magna cum laude graduate is a year-long residency at the Veterans Administration hospital in Salisbury.

“The faculty and staff consistently exceeded my expectations, ensuring my path to success and offering unwavering support through the past four years,” she said. “I feel like I have grown in so many ways and it has been one of the best experiences.”

Among the faculty members who made diploma-earners’ years at Wingate so fruitful were Dr. Lisa Dinkins, director of community health outreach and associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, who was named Graduate Faculty Member of the Year, and Dr. Shanta Dube, director of the Master of Public Health program, who received the Graduate Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award.

Now that all the research, scholarship, clinicals and exams are over with, Gandarilla said that perhaps the most important thing for grads to do as they head out into the workforce is to keep everything in perspective.

“Embrace each challenge with passion,” he said, “and remember to pause and appreciate each victory, big or small.”