On May 16, 2026, the George Washington University (GW) Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program gathered in the University Student Center Grand Ballroom to celebrate the graduation of 22 students from the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. The day began with Capstone Presentations followed by the Graduation Celebration. The Health Sciences Celebration with all other graduate programs took place 4:00pm.
“We aspired to design a program that diversifies occupational therapy and to address unmet personal, community and societal needs within a framework of inclusion and justice. This is a lofty aspiration, so our goal was to provide you with the tools to be critical, to be reflective, to analyze systems for the gaps, disparities and injustices that exist in those systems, then to find effective ways to nudge the system so every person has the access and opportunity to live a meaningful life,” said program director and professor, Roger Ideishi, JD, OT/L, FAOTA.
Below are the following recipients of Curricular Theme and Graduation Awards:
- Revolutionary Award: Brianne Shust
- Metamorphosis Award: Abby Grace Buchanan
- Peer Inspiration Award: Justine Williams Neale
- Outstanding Alumni Award: Carolin Capurro and Meredith Norwood
- Outstanding Community Partner Award: CentroNía
- Outstanding Clinical Educator Award: Isabella Mendiola
- SPIRAL Award: Jill Meissner
- CLEAR Award: Natalie Harper
- STAR Award: Aliyah Busselberg
- JEDI Award: Traci Szoke
- Alpha Eta Society Inductees: Natalie Harper, Jill Meissner, Rachel Metts, Brianne Shust
View the digital Health Sciences Graduation program, here: 2026 Health Sciences Graduation Celebration or watch the 2026 Health Sciences - GW SMHS Celebration on YouTube.
