Signing day marks post-grad success

If you have ever experienced an athlete’s signing day, you know just how rewarding and exciting it can be. It is a brand new step in their career, a brand new team to be on; It’s a sign that all their hard work has paid off.  

On April 20th, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship plans to bring this same celebratory feeling to senior undergraduate students who have accepted admission to a master’s or doctorate program for Fall 2023.  

The Grad Signing Day is one of several events throughout National Undergraduate Research Week, designed to recognize achievements and “intellectual inquiry” in Creighton undergraduate students.  

The Signing Day is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on April 20th, in room G04 of the Hixson-Lied Science Building. All are welcome to attend. If you or someone you know will be attending a Ph.D. or master’s program in the upcoming year, CURAS is currently accepting these nominations. Nominees will then be sent invitations to the event, and will be asked their top three school choices, their desired career path and why they’ve made this decision. 

 The ceremony will have each student announce their final choice, and will be celebrated with plenty of cheering, clapping and even some cake.  

Dr. Gwendalyn King, assistant professor in biology at Creighton and working in research, teaching and service in the Neuroscience Program, has been the leading force for this event. King led a Signing Day for Biology, Neuroscience and EVS students in 2022, and is now “hoping it will be a tradition at Creighton going forward,” she said.  

Maddie Urbanek, a Creighton neuroscience graduate, was one of the celebrated graduates at last year’s Signing Day event. She shared her appreciation for the ceremony amidst her last semester.  

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities throughout undergrad to get together and authentically celebrate the hard work [that] so many students are putting in over their time at Creighton,” Urbanek said.  

She said the Signing Day offered a much needed break after doing interviews and applications, day after day, to get into a graduate program.  

King said it’s important to celebrate your own accomplishments and the success of others.  

“...Signing Day as an idea was born to make it clear that there are lots of paths that lead to great success after college and to celebrate what has been a deeply personal, often isolating and complex decision, ” she said.