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\u201cKnow that you are capable of more than you think. You can break stereotypes across gender, race and age, and do good in this world. Take advice and criticisms positively and constructively, and follow your heart and your passion. What might feel like a small step is just one of many propelling us in the right direction,\u201d Joon Ying Boon, PhD candidate, told the crowd assembled at Agganis arena on Thursday, May 12, for Boston University School of Medicine’s 169th Commencement exercises.\u00a0 BUSM conferred 166 medical degrees, 11 MD\/PhDs, \u00a0six MD\/MPHs; four MD\/MBAs and 54 PhDs. In addition 27 earned Latin honors \u2013 19 cum laude, six magna cum laude, and two achieved summa cum laude: Shashank Dwivedi and Andrew Simon.<\/span> Daniel McGrail, BUSM MD candidate, shared nine lessons he learned from his parents and colleagues.\u00a0 \u201cListen, smile often, work out, dress professionally, go to karaoke, be humble, work hard, be nice, and if you are ever nervous, just start by taking two long deep breaths.\u201d<\/span> Dean Karen Antman, MD, said, \u201cWe gather today to publicly recognize and celebrate the credentials that you have earned and the major life transition that this day holds for each of you.<\/span> \u201cYou are becoming scientists and physicians at a time of great change and uncertainty.\u00a0 But the faculty have great confidence in your creativity and innovation.\u00a0 You will figure it out \u2026 Congratulations on reaching this major milestone in your professional life \u2013 the end of the beginning.”<\/span> The invited speaker was Mary Travis Bassett, MD, MPH, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since January 2014. With more than 30 years of experience in public health, Bassett has dedicated her career to advancing health equity. \u201cYour training won\u2019t prepare you for all that you will face with an MD after your name. But like the physicians that have come before you \u2013 including me \u2013 I know that your generation of doctors will grow meet that challenge,\u201d Bassett said. \u201cYou\u2019re no longer a student doctor, but if you do it right, you will always be a student of medicine. As doctors, we\u2019re witness to the hardest, most vulnerable moments in people\u2019s lives. Many decades later, I can still say that\u2019s a true honor. Let us always strive to match their courage with our commitment.\u201d<\/span>