Nazareth College Commencement with Speaker Goodwell Nzou in May 2021
Nazareth College will celebrate its 94th Commencement in May 2021 and is honored to have as Commencement speaker Goodwell Nzou '15 — whose path from Zimbabwe to Nazareth College to breakthrough brain research all stemmed from a snake bite.
Nazareth plans to host in-person Commencement ceremonies for graduating students May 14-15 in our Golisano Training Center on campus. Planning is still in process, as we await updated pandemic commencement guidelines from the state. See updates on our Commencement webpages.
Nzou was born and raised in Zimbabwe, where wading into a river to cool off at age 11 resulted in a bite from a puff adder, one of Africa's deadliest snakes. With no transportation, his family pushed him in a wheelbarrow more than 12 miles to the nearest clinic. The lack of adequate medical care anywhere near his village eventually led to his leg needing to be amputated at a hospital nearly 250 miles from home.
Once Nzou got out of the hospital, "I started studying," he told Nazareth's Connections magazine in 2020. "I wanted what had happened to have a meaning. My experience with western medicine made me want to be part of a bigger world, a world where one day I may be like the doctors who saved my life."
He excelled at a high school for students with disabilities — and as a percussionist playing the marimba. A film called Music by Prudence about his internationally recognized band, Liyana, won the 2010 Academy Award for best documentary (short subject).
It was that film's producer who told Nzou to apply to Nazareth, where she had given a talk. "I knew that if she remembered that small of a school, it must have been something unique," Nzou said, recounting that story.
After just one year as a chemistry major at Nazareth, Nzou was able to do research with Nazareth faculty to improve a drug to enable doctors to test for HIV more easily. If he'd gone to a larger university, Nzou said, he would only have been washing beakers. He also found a home in the Nazareth music community as part of the Nazareth Percussion Ensemble.
As a sophomore, he landed a three-month internship at the University of California, San Diego. "It was a big deal for me to get the opportunity to work in a prestigious lab that early," he said.
After Nazareth, Nzou went on to Wake Forest University and earned a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biosciences in 2019. As a doctoral student, he contributed to a breakthrough 3-D model of the brain that holds promise for neurodegenerative drug discovery, specifically for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis.
Goodwell did his postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, where he investigated treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He is currently a senior field clinical scientist for Abbott, where he is managing clinical trials for neuromodulation and deep brain stimulation.
For details and updates about the ceremonies: Commencement 2021
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Julie Long | Chief PR Officer, | (585) 781-8186 | jlong2@naz.edu
Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.
Nazareth College's 94th Commencement speaker is Goodwell Nzou '15.