Class of 2025 Commencement Celebrates 500 Future Health Sciences Professionals
Ceremony Highlights Twelve Prestigious Maimonides Award Winners and Graduates in Nursing, ABA, IO, Psychology, PA, PT, OT, and SLP Fields
More than 500 graduates from Touro University’s School of Health Sciences took center stage at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York, on June 12, 2025. The commencement celebrated the achievements of students who earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees across high-impact health fields—including physician assistant, speech-language pathology, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, industrial organizational psychology, general psychology, clinical mental health counseling, and applied behavior analysis.
Twelve stellar students were selected to receive prestigious Maimonides Awards for demonstrating the highest professional ideals of a practitioner of the health sciences.
“The Maimonides Awards recognize excellence and commitment. This year’s recipients exemplify those qualities and we’re eager to see the positive contributions they will make in their fields and their impact on society. Touro is a recognized leader in the health sciences; it’s now the responsibility of each of our graduates to help carry that tradition of excellence forward,” said Dr. Steven Lorenzet, Dean of the School of Health Sciences.
Dr. Andy Jagoda, Professor and Chair Emeritus of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, served as keynote speaker. “Class of 2025, you’re positioned to play an important role in the evolution of healthcare delivery. Your training at Touro has empowered you with skills, compassion, resilience and a sense of purpose. I encourage you to stay humble and to give your fullest to deliver the highest quality care possible,” said Dr. Jagoda.
Stellar Students Named Maimonides Award Winners
Physician Assistant (PA) program graduate and Maimonides Award winner Charlotte Garcia will begin a prestigious Cardiothoracic Surgery PA Fellowship at NYU Langone in Manhattan.
“This fellowship gives me invaluable access to talented surgeons and other PAs on a day-to-day basis and allows me to play a vital role in elevating patient care. It's always been my goal to work in a surgical subspecialty, and becoming a Cardiothoracic Surgery PA is a dream come true. If I’m able to practice medicine and help others, while also one day having a family of my own, I’m turning my childhood goals and aspirations into a reality,” said Garcia.
Brian Eichenstein, a recent graduate of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program and a Maimonides Award winner, looks forward to helping businesses retain top talent by working with employees to ensure they feel supported, motivated, and connected to their work.
“My goal is to help create a positive work environment where people want to stay and grow. I believe that when employees feel valued and see purpose in what they do, they perform better, stay longer, and help the entire company succeed. My dream is to help companies grow by supporting their employees and building a culture where people look forward to coming to work every day,” said Eichenstein.
Dana Cebulski, a recent graduate of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program and a Maimonides Award winner, will be starting a new role at top-rated Spear Physical Therapy in the fall. During her studies, she was also a recipient of a generous scholarship funded by Spear Physical Therapy.
"I chose to pursue a career in physical therapy (PT) after experiencing multiple sports injuries and realizing I wanted to help others in the way my PTs helped me. It blends my love for the human body, sports, and empowering people to move and live better. Long-term, I hope to provide travel PT in outpatient settings, helping patients with a range of injuries,” said Cebulski.
Congrats to all the ’25 School of Health Sciences graduates!
