Schools

Embrace Chaos, Forge New Roads To Success

Quinnipiac University Graduates Get Advice From Yale-New Haven Hospital CEO; Madison Graduates Include Paul R. Coppola, Jeffrey A. Kron, MacKensie Eleanor McEntire, Victoria C. Ogbejesi, Henry Puciato, And Evan C. Schwanfelder

By embracing chaos, you can forge new roads to success.

Marna P. Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital, gave graduating students this advice during her keynote address at  2011 Graduate Commencement for Sunday.

"We are living in chaotic times, and as future leaders, it is incumbent upon you to dive into that chaos with intent," Borgstrom said. "Three years ago who even thought about what it means to be 'too big to fail?' Who could have imagined that U.S. automakers would be bailed out by our government? How many people had even heard of Bernie Madoff? They are now part of our reality."

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Overcast skies released a downpour of rain as budding graduates and guests filed into the TD Bank Sports Center on the York Hill Campus. The university awarded degrees to more than 600 graduates from its schools of business, communications, education and health sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as an honorary degree to Borgstrom.

Borgstrom oversees Yale-New Haven Hospital, including the Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, the Yale-New Haven Hospital Psychiatric Hospital and the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven. She also serves on several boards, including VHA Inc. of Dallas, Texas, the Association of American Medical Colleges of Washington, D.C., and the Connecticut Hospital Association.

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"The world craves definition. In fact, it demands it of us," Borgstrom said. "So it is the responsibility of a leader -- regardless of your field -- to define, to command and to direct the flow of chaos to the best of your ability."

Pointing to the changes reshaping her field of health care, Borgstrom advised graduates to face head-on the unstable times ahead. "The worlds of business, law and health provide a constant echo of chaos. Cycles of upheaval and uncertainty define the prisms of our reality," she said.

New graduates seemed ready to take on the work world.

"It's pretty competitive out there. I've been on a number of job interviews already, and I'm waiting to hear back," said Jodi Bonfiglio, of Boston, Mass., who earned a master's degree in medical laboratory sciences.

"I feel confident in the background Quinnipiac has given us," Bonfiglio said.

Josh Anderson, of Durham, who graduated with a master's degree in teaching, felt equally well prepared.

"Quinnipiac has a very good program for teaching, so I'm cautiously optimistic," he said.

Valerie Papanikolaw, of Roxbury, N.J., earned a doctor of physical therapy degree. Before seeking a permanent position, she will complete two 10-week, clinical internships.

"I feel quite prepared," Pananikolaw said. "I almost don't ever have a doubt in my mind about finding work. There's definitely a big need [for health care workers] now."

John Keaveney, of Chicago, Ill., has already seen his brand new MBA pay off. Keaveney works for Corn Products International, a food ingredients company. "I've been with the company, but I just got a nice promotion," he said.

Borgstrom additionally encouraged graduates to cultivate self-confidence and humor, and to pursue passion in their professional and personal lives. She also advised them to learn from the inevitable mistakes they will make along the way.

"Most successful people I know will tell you that their so-called successes were far less valuable to their development as professionals and people than their failures," she said. "That certainly is true in my case."

The following Madison residents received graduate degrees Sunday:

Paul R. Coppola, Sixth-Year Diploma in Educational Leadership; Jeffrey A. Kron, Master of Health Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences; MacKensie Eleanor McEntire, Master of Science in Public Relations; Victoria C. Ogbejesi, Master of Science in Nursing; Henry Puciato, Master of Science in Nursing and Evan C. Schwanfelder, Master of Arts in Teaching


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