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\u201cOur most solemn obligation, our most sacred trust, as scientists and as physicians, is also our greatest privilege.\u00a0 We must do our best for the people we serve, not because of who they are, the color of their skin or the language they speak, the part of our society they may represent, their ability to pay, but just because of the fundamental humanity we all share,\u201d said Associate Dean and Director of Admissions and Professor of Medicine Robert Witzburg, MD, at the 2018 Boston University School of Medicine Commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n
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Dr. Witzburg, who has been a fixture on the Medical Campus for 44 years, 36 on the BUSM faculty and 16 years as the head of Admissions, was selected by the graduating glass as their commencement speaker.\u00a0 \u201cWe advance science with integrity and care for our patients with dignity, compassion and respect \u2026 simply because it is the right thing to do.\u00a0 This I believe is at the heart of what we have all learned at BU.\u00a0 This is what binds us all together; this is what is special, and this is what makes us proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
BUSM conferred 137 medical degrees, five MD\/PhDs, two MD\/MBAs and 27 PhDs; 23 students earned Latin honors \u2013 15 cum laude, five magna cum laude, and two achieved summa cum laude: Orly Leiva and Angela Nolin.<\/p>\n
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Kadryn Kadasia, the PhD class speaker, is a member of BUSM\u2019s inaugural class of the Program in Biomedical Sciences.\u00a0 She received her PhD in Molecular and Translational Medicine. \u00a0Dr. Kadasia was born and raised in Kenya and received her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Purdue University. Her dissertation research addressed using HIV monoclonal antibodies to prevent HIV transmission. She has a strong desire to find a solution to the HIV\/AIDS crisis and other infectious diseases, which have taken an exceptionally hard toll on women and children in Africa.<\/p>\n
During her time at BUSM she volunteered locally, and while in Kenya, worked with Doctors Without Borders to establish a Reproductive Health Program in the Kibera settlement in Nairobi.\u00a0 After graduation, she plans to work in academia or industry remaining engaged in international health.<\/p>\n
Dr. Kadasia is the first person in her family of 56 to earn a PhD. She shared, \u201cIn Kenya, we say it takes a village to raise a child. To us \u2026 a village is fluid and dynamic, a representation of your support system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage you to reflect on your own villages, not just the hands that raised you, but the voices that encouraged you, mentors who challenged you, even supervisors who pushed you to the precipice of quitting.\u00a0 Take this opportunity to acknowledge that you are the sum of many parts and despite the trends of the times, we must recognize the sanctity and necessity for all of these different parts in society by unabashedly embracing diversity, especially at this level of scholarship,\u201d Dr. Kadasia said.<\/p>\n
Anoop Ravilla was the MD class speaker.\u00a0 Dr. Ravilla will join Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles this summer as a radiology resident. While at BUSM he was a four-year member of the Student Committee on Medical Student Affairs (SCOMSA), Chair of the Radiology Interest Group and a member of the Science Teaching Enrichment Program mentoring high school students on careers in the sciences. He also worked with a technology startup to develop proposals for healthcare applications of their proprietary technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a day of great pride and humility. \u00a0Pride in recognition of all you have accomplished. \u00a0Humility in recognition of the fact that there is still so much left to learn,\u201d said Dr. Ravilla. \u201cThe graduation ceremony is the perfect representation of this duality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean Karen H. Antman congratulated graduates on reaching this major milestone. Quoting Winston Churchill, she said, \u201cNow is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe faculty have great confidence in your creativity, resilience, intellect and innovation. You wouldn\u2019t be here if you hadn\u2019t convinced our admissions offices that you wanted to change the world on the frontlines of science and medicine, the school\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n