class of 2020

FIU Nursing Student's DIY Graduation Ceremony Goes Viral

Although her graduation was canceled during a public health crisis, Anabelle Petisco feels there's no better time to join the field.

NBC Universal, Inc.

When life gives you lemons, the family of one Florida International University graduating student took matters into their own hands to make lemonade and it’s going viral.

Anabelle Petisco is a nursing student at FIU who was slated to walk across the stage last Sunday. Instead, she graduated from home during a DIY ceremony complete with a makeshift school president.

“It was really fun," she told NBC 6. "That was actually the day that I was supposed to graduate, it was supposed to be last Sunday at 10 a.m., so my family wanted to get creative with it. Obviously, we can’t go outside because of the circumstances, so we decided to do something creative and fun and we held a DIY graduation at home.”

Her brother, a fellow FIU alum and current FIU employee, played the role of the president, Mark Rosenberg, complete with a face cutout.

Although her graduation was canceled during a public health crisis, Petisco feels there's no better time to join the field.

“I know that as a society and as a whole, we weren’t anticipating any of these events to occur," she said. "...I feel like there’s no better time than now to be joining the healthcare field and be on the frontlines to help with this virus."

She is currently interning with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and working with the pediatric oncology unit and hopes to be hired as a nurse in the next couple of months. 

Petisco said that it has been fun seeing everybody’s reactions as her video goes viral on social media.

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