BUSM Graduates Welcomed to Medical and Scientific Community
On Saturday, May 17, members of the BUSM Class of 2014 gathered to celebrate their graduation from medical school. Congratulations, Grads! View the pics on Facebook
The 167th Boston University School of Medicine commencement opened with an academic procession of 300 members of the faculty lining up on either side of the Class of 2014 to welcome them into the community of scientists and physicians. The ceremony, held at the Agganis arena on May 17, was a celebration of achievement and commitment to medical research and caring for patients.
“We gather together today to publically recognize and celebrate the credentials that these degree candidates have earned, a major life transition,” said Dean Karen Antman, MD. “I speak for the faculty in saying that it has been a great privilege to work with you. You are smart and committed, resilient and adaptive.”
The degrees earned by the Class of 2014 included 52 PhDs, 157 MDs, 12 MD-PhDs, 10 MD-MPHs, and six graduates who received an MSc.
“It has been said that ‘life is what happens when you are otherwise making plans,’” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Jonathan Woodson, MD, who delivered the commencement address. “I have found this to be true time and again, and it expresses the need in life to expect the unexpected. Each of you should be prepared to negotiate around obstacles even as you keep your eye on the prize or the long range goals you have set for yourself. It is important to understand that deviations are the friction points in life when we learn the most about ourselves and we grow.
Woodson asked the parents of the graduates to stand to be recognized for their support and dedication that helped make their children’s accomplishments possible.
Speaking for her fellow doctoral students, Ariana Harris, PhD, noted, “To solve the mysteries of the world, we need each and everyone one of us to contribute. In a little while we will received our academic hoods and you will hear the titles of our individual projects, getting a sense of how different they are. This is what makes the scientific community amazing. There is so much to learn and so many of us are eager to figure it out. I am confident that whatever careers we pursue as individuals, our thirst for knowledge will continue. We use our scientific training every day. We search for logic, reason and evidence that support our thoughts and beliefs.”
Referring to the white coats he and his classmates received upon entering BUSM, Brian Curry, MD, speaking on behalf of the medical students, said, “We received these as a symbol of our induction to a calling. We didn’t realize it at the time, they also symbolized the granting of a very special kind of power. One that, just like our white coats themselves, we have spent the better part of four years clumsily trying to grow into and will likely continue to do for the rest of our careers. My message to you, BUSM class of 2014, is simply this: Earn this power. Earn it, but recognize we will never own it. We only can ever be responsible stewards of this power our patients have entrusted to us. Though today marks the retiring of these short white coats, we should never allow ourselves to get fat and happy with the notion that we have somehow grown into them. We must earn it anew every day, with every patient, always.”