The ceremony was a mix of celebration and optimism combined with recollections of adversity overcome and reminders of the value of helping one another, and the world, heal.

Over 1,000 tuned in, and nearly as many comments were posted on a live chat by friends, family and faculty - from as far away as Bangladesh and as close as Hicksville, Long Island where a 5^th grade class joined the celebration.

Speakers included Touro leadership and the deans and top students from each of the division’s graduate schools: Business, Education, Health Sciences, Jewish Studies, Technology, and Social Work. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer delivered a congratulatory message as well.

“Be a Healer”

In his congratulatory remarks, Touro College and University System (TCUS) President Dr. Alan Kadish said, “For the rest of your lives, I am certain that you will be presented with personal and professional challenges. And I am equally certain that you will draw upon the skills and experiences you gained from Touro and harness the same engines of perseverance and dedication that brought you to this moment, to make a marked difference in the lives of those around you. Everyone has an opportunity to be a healer in a world that truly needs healing. Never has that been true more than today.”

Top Students Deliver Reflections

The students thanked family, friends, and their professors for their support and kindness, and shared their thoughts about their journeys:

• Miriam Kleiner, M.S., Industrial Organizational Psychology, School of Health Sciences, obtained her B.S. in psychology at Lander College of Arts & Sciences and currently is Director of Investor Relations and Human Resources at a real estate investment syndication and management company. A 4.0 honors student at SHS, where she tutored advanced courses, Kleiner is admired for her passion for growth and helping people make positive changes in their lives. At work, she manages over 300 investors and over 20 employees. “IO is the perfect combination of the psychology world, which I love, and the business world, which is fast-paced and constantly evolving,” says Kleiner.

• Ian Baum, MSW, Graduate School of Social Work, earned a B.A. at Touro’s School for Lifelong Education and a M.S. in General and Special Education before pursuing social work. A 4.0 honors student, Baum was chosen by classmates to speak because of his positive attitude and commitment to help others in need. His interest in social work began as a counselor and then administrator at a treatment center for children with behavioral disorders. During school he worked three jobs: as a private school administrator, a high school teacher, and administrator of a behavior modification program. “Our world, our nation, our communities and our families have experienced such pain and tragedy, with the burdens overwhelming, that to give up would be both acceptable and expected. But we did not. We lifted ourselves up and we pushed through. Because that is who we are,” he said.

• Aharon Friedler, M.A., Graduate School of Jewish Studies, is a Torah scholar and a member of the faculty of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, where he has taught high school, middle school and elementary school. In his remarks, Rabbi Friedler noted that using zoom and other remote media during the pandemic forced him and his classmates to experience what their own students experience as learners. “For many in the world, and especially for us graduate students, the world as we knew it…and the world we live in now has changed dramatically,” he said. “But while the platform for delivery has been one untested…the goal has never changed,” he said. Paraphrasing the Talmud, the goal of an educator must be to “ignite that candle in their students until the flame within their students will rise by itself.”

• Tina Williams, M.S., Teaching Students with Disabilities Generalists, Graduate School of Education, is a mother, entrepreneur, researcher, and advocate for children with diverse abilities - and education. Ms. Williams has been a special education teacher for nine years and before the pandemic, owned a dance studio where she taught at-risk students in NYC schools. She shared her struggles, including growing up in a single-parent home in a housing project, giving birth to twins on the autism spectrum, and losing one of her three sons to brain cancer. “It took four years to get back into Touro after many of my classes went from 'incompletes' to F’s but I still kept pushing,” she said. “I always tell my students to never give up no matter how much they have to struggle. There is always something to learn from each chapter in our lives. We all need to keep pushing. Our next chapter is just waiting to be written."

• Adeel Ahmed, M.S., Information Systems, Graduate School of Technology, came to Touro with ten years of experience designing and developing technology systems and an MBA from a technology institute in Pakistan. He was chosen student speaker because of his academic achievements (3.9 GPA) and service to the GST. Ahmed managed the school’s website and became an expert in the school’s customer relationship management system used for marketing and recruiting. In his remarks, Ahmed emphasized service to humanity. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we can all be proud of our scholastic achievements, which will have a profound significance on the rest of our lives…but graduation is not an end goal by itself. Rather, it is part of life’s journey, which should ultimately be dedicated to serve humanity without any bias,” he said.

• Ilknur Taylor Clement, M.S. in Accounting, Graduate School of Business, also graduated with a GPA of 4.0. Clement came to the United States from Turkey to visit family and decided to make New York her new home. She taught herself English, and enrolled at the New York School of Applied Studies for her associate’s and then bachelor’s degrees. She held several jobs, including as a bookkeeper and owner/operator of a café in upstate New York, before returning to Touro for her master’s. Back at Touro, she landed an internship at the Jersey City Department of Finance, where she is now working full-time while studying for her CPA exam. “Everything takes hard work, creativity, confidence, experience and being open to new ideas and opportunities. If you fail, do not get frustrated. Be strong and stand up because you will allow yourself to grow. Do not give up.”