Three awards were presented during the event, recognizing and thanking the individuals who have impacted the college in various ways.

The 2023 Preceptor of the Year Award was presented to triple Gator Nurse Karen Larsen (BSN 1995, MSN 2013, DNP 2023). Larsen has donated her time and expertise, serving as an enthusiastic preceptor for family nurse practitioner students at Ocala Family Medical Center for more than two years. Students find their time with her valuable and report that having her as a preceptor is an exceptional learning experience.

The Care, Lead, Inspire Award was presented to Mark and Sally Rosser. The Rossers have established three endowments at the University of Florida, including at Mark’s alma mater, the College of Education. At the College of Nursing, they established the Rosser Family Scholarship, which has supported 43 undergraduate and graduate nursing students since 2018. The Rossers were also instrumental in funding much of the equipment for the college’s Kirbo Innovation and Learning Lab that opened in 2021.

The College of Nursing’s Perseverance Award was posthumously awarded to Analucia Cabanillas Cespedes (BSN 2022). Analucia was a new student in the Accelerated BSN program in 2021 when she was told she would have to undergo brain surgery to remove a three-inch tumor, followed by six weeks of radiation and one year of chemotherapy. She never gave up, graduating on time with her class in August of 2022 and uplifting patients as a registered nurse on the UF Health cardiovascular ICU for two months. However, this past May, another tumor was discovered — this time a grade 4, inoperable glioblastoma, and she died in June. The Cabanillas family accepted the Perseverance Award on Analucia’s behalf.