GMS Graduates Urged to Focus on Wellness

“It is solved by walking.”

As Linda Hyman, PhD, Associate Provost for Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) commended the 365 master’s degree candidates on their remarkable ambition and more than 600 hours of community service at their convocation ceremony on Thursday, May 17, she urged them to focus on wellness as they prepare for what will come next. “Solvitur ambulando – it is solved by walking.”

“I remember my first meeting with the leadership of our student groups, and I was thinking about how ambitious you were, feeling a bit skeptical about your ability to accomplish all you set out to do,” Dr. Hyman said at Boston University’s Tennis and Track Center. “But a few weeks ago when you delivered your end-of-the year reports, we were blown away.”

Masters in Medical Sciences (MAMS) and Masters of Public Health degree candidate Katherine Valles reflected on how the field of medical science is always evolving, forcing students to become, in her view, “Masters of Persistence.”

“We have been challenged to prove that we have the passion, diligence and intellectual horsepower it takes to rise to any occasion,” Ms. Valles said.

Commencement is not simply the celebration of the fact that students have met the requirements for their degrees, Ms. Valles said, but the beginning of a career in an ever-changing field.

“If you ask anyone roaming around in a gown today about gene regulation or the cardiovascular system, they’ll be sure to talk your ear off,” she said. “But I would encourage you to ask them about how they learn best, how they handle and cope with stress, and how they learn from their mistakes, because those are the homework assignments that matter most.”

Masters in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine degree candidate Lesley McGee, a “newly minted” mental health counselor, started her speech by asking guests and graduates to take a few deep breaths together. In quoting Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, McGee celebrated the incredible growth of her peers.

“You are composed of the caretakers and loved ones who cheered and encouraged you, the countless moments of insight and growth and the BU faculty and staff who have done extraordinarily tremendous work to ensure that you are ready to enter the world as a competent and compassionate clinician,” she said.

In her speech, Naomi Wagner, a Masters in Genetic Counseling degree candidate, urged her peers to protect scientific research and clinical knowledge and to share it with the general public.

“It is our responsibility as scientists and healthcare professionals to make sure that the information we are providing to our patients applies to their everyday reality,” she said. “Science cannot be separate from everyday life.”

In her remarks, Dr. Hyman quoted Mark Moss, PhD, chair of the department of anatomy and neurobiology, who reminded her that “the brain needs rest to stir the creative juices.” In that vein, she encouraged graduates to take care of themselves.

“Whatever the complexities of the day, whatever problems you may face, take a walk, take a swim, ride your bike,” she said. “Take care of yourselves and the innovation and creativity will follow.”

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