The moment was just as he imagined it.

After being encouraged to apply to the School of Nursing by a friend, Joseph was accepted into the nurse practitioner program without ever stepping foot on campus — until now.

“I’m excited. When I was looking online, I liked that the success rates were really high for graduating and being able to pass the boards,” said Joseph, who has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and lives in Trumbull, Connecticut.

The morning featured thoughtful presentations by several campus partners, including the CARE Team, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, Student Health Services, the Office of Accessibility, Recreation and Wellness, the Title IX office and on-campus health services provided by Hartford HealthCare.

For returning alumni Arianna Gove ’25, a 3+2 student from Seymour, Connecticut, and Brooklyn Mastracchio ’25, a 4+2 student from North Haven, this marks the second part of their career journey.

“I really liked the (Mount Carmel) campus for undergrad, and I’m doing the 3+2 program for my master’s in social work,” said Gove, who earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in May.

“I knew with the 3+2 program, it carries over a lot of my undergrad (financial aid) awards into my first year of graduate school,” she said. “That’s a really big help.”

Gove and Mastracchio will each take three graduate courses this fall plus a general field placement.

For Mastracchio, her field placement at the Cheshire-Quinnipiac Collaborative Transition Program will help drive her MSW studies this fall.

“It’s so nice to start our internships,” said Mastracchio, who earned her bachelor’s degree in health science studies in May. “It’s going to be great.”