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Nearly 18 months after they completed their studies, members of BUSM\u2019s MD, PhD and Master\u2019s programs from the Class of 2020 were invited back to the Medical Campus to celebrate their accomplishments at a recognition event on Saturday, Oct. 2. The event coincides with BUSM Alumni Weekend and an All-University Commencement which was held Sunday, Oct. 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou graduated at what was, and still is, the most challenging time in the medical sciences in the last century. You did not get to hear the cheers of your family and friends as we celebrated your achievements,\u201d said Karen Antman, MD, BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean. \u201cThe faculty have great confidence in your creativity, intellect and innovation, as evidenced by your perseverance, your resilience. We again congratulate you on reaching this major milestone in your professional life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event, which was held under a tent on Talbot Green, was smaller than the usual spring convocation ceremonies and allowed the graduates to experience a hooding ceremony that would have taken place had it not been for the pandemic.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n While the BUSM MD class had 190 members and the GMS doctoral and master\u2019s classes had 44 and 362 respectively, only a portion of the graduates were able to return to campus to celebrate.<\/p>\n \u201cOur class of 2020 MDs graduated in April of last year, a month earlier than expected, so that they could join the frontlines of fighting the pandemic. We recognize that it\u2019s hard for our MD graduates to get back to the Medical Campus. They are in residency programs all over the United States and Canada and don\u2019t have a lot of flexibility in their work schedules as first-year residents, but we wanted to invite them back to celebrate their graduation, and to thank them for their service over the last 18 months,\u201d said Pedro Falci, MEd, Director of Student Affairs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a little strange since we have been residents for the past year and a half, but I thought it would be nice to attend for our families and to have the photos,\u201d said Monica Chowdary, MD, now a first-year resident in emergency medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to be back in Boston. It\u2019s nice to see your classmates and catch up since we have been so busy,\u201d added TJ Williams, MD, now a first-year neurology resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.<\/p>\n Twenty-three of the PhD recipients were able to attend Saturday\u2019s ceremony. \u201cWe acknowledge the hard work and significant successes of our doctoral and master\u2019s students. We are delighted to have so many of them able to join us today,\u201d said Kimberly Arena, Director of Graduate Affairs.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI really wanted to come back to see my professors and classmates, and share the milestone together,\u201d said Eleni Stampouloglou, who received her PhD in biochemistry and now is a senior scientist at Intellia Therapeutics.<\/p>\n Of the 362 Master\u2019s degrees awarded in 2020, 18 returned to campus for the recognition event, including those from the MS in Medical Sciences (MAMS), Anatomy & Neurobiology, Biomedical Forensic Sciences, Biomedical Research Technologies, and Clinical Investigation and Clinical Research.<\/p>\n \u201cWith all of the hard work I\u2019ve put in, and the life I\u2019ve built, I felt like it\u2019s finally come full circle,\u201d said Kristen Wright, a MAMS program graduate who now is a second-year medical student at the University of Vermont.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOur graduates represent a breadth of scientific expertise that is greatly needed in today\u2019s world, from basic research to counseling and patient care,\u201d said Deborah Stearns-Kurosawa, PhD,\u00a0ad interim<\/em>\u00a0Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Medical Sciences. \u201cEven in the middle of a pandemic, the students overcame the challenges, earning their degree and many competitive institutional and national awards. They take this extraordinary fortitude with them in their professions and we wish them every future success.\u201d<\/p>\n Barbara Schreiber, PhD, assistant dean, alumni affairs, associate professor of biochemistry introduced each member of the class for hooding, Antman presented the students with their diplomas and Stearns-Kurosawa gave each student a long-stem red rose. After the ceremony everyone was invited to an adjacent tent for brunch where they could safely socialize and take additional photos.<\/p>\n In case you missed the MD, PhD virtual convocation, you can read the story and see the video here<\/a>. The GMS virtual convocation story and video can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Erica](\"\/camed\/files\/2021\/10\/MED_2448a-636x605.jpg\")
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