GMS Convocation

GMS Graduates Urged to be Courageous and Make a Difference

“Continue your pursuit of knowledge with a purpose.”

C. James McKnight, PhD, associate dean of Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS), told graduate students receiving diplomas at their May 14 convocation to continue making a difference.

“Your hard work here has prepared you, and we are confident you have the will, the courage and the tools that are necessary to make a difference in all of our futures,” said McKnight.

GMS awarded 42 master of arts degrees, 334 master of science degrees and eight combined degrees at the ceremony Thursday at BU’s Track & Tennis Center.

Hee-Young Park, PhD, dean, ad interim, advised graduates that they lived in a world undergoing profound and rapid change with the burgeoning impact and potential of artificial intelligence, an ever-changing political and policy arena and changes to federal research funding.

Park urged them to continue what they’d done during their graduate education. “You remained focused. You stayed determined. You continued your pursuit of knowledge with purpose,” she said. “This is exactly how you will make the world better.

“Science and health professions transcend national, cultural and racial boundaries. They connect us,” Park continued. “Through them…you will collaborate, innovate and contribute to improving humanity.”

Farihah Chowdhury was the first of three GMS students chosen by their peers to speak at the convocation. The child of parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh, Chowdhury cited their sacrifice to build a better life for their family as instilling in her a profound sense of duty to serve others. Like many of her classmates in the Master of Medical Sciences program, Chowdhury is hoping to gain admission to medical school. She said the past 18 months volunteering in the hematology and oncology unit at Boston Medical Center taught her valuable life lessons.

“My time volunteering at the hospital has helped me realize the importance of the smallest acts of kindness and what it feels like to play an essential part in someone’s larger medical journey,” she said, urging classmates to help fill the gaps in healthcare access.

Headed to the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School following graduation with a Master of Science in Pathology Laboratory Science, Samuel Camilli chose to reflect on what he’d learned from failure, not success. The Sarasota, Florida, native felt he’d failed when he couldn’t maintain a schedule working a hospital night shift while attending graduate school that sacrificed sleep and his well-being. He also took to heart the rejection inherent in applying to medical schools.

But Camilli discovered three things that carried him forward: be fully present, choose deliberately how you spend your time, and observe and learn from the unexpected.

“Take time to look over your shoulder at the road behind you. See the victories and the failures, the highs and the lows,” he told classmates. “Use that information in the present to adjust, not to panic…but to make a thoughtful next step.”

The transition from small town Virginia to Boston to enter the physician assistant program at BU was initially daunting for Paige Conner. Bostonians were reserved, she found, with brief eye contact, quick conversation and “a lot of passing by without a smile” that was a little intimidating, Conner recalled in her convocation speech. But that changed when she met her friendly and supportive classmates and found that kindness takes many forms.

“Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s just someone showing up,” said Conner, who is beginning her career as a physician’s assistant following graduation.

“Even in the most ordinary moments we have the ability to impact someone in ways we may never fully realize,” she said.

Those in healthcare tend to meet patients on what can be the worst day of their lives, Conner observed.

“What they’ll remember won’t always be the diagnosis or the treatment,” she said. “They’ll remember how we treated them. They’ll remember how we made them feel. As we move forward, don’t underestimate the impact of how you show up—for your patients, your colleagues and each other.”

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