{"id":85789,"date":"2022-04-07T16:07:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T20:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/?p=85789"},"modified":"2022-05-12T07:03:42","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T11:03:42","slug":"introducing-this-years-gms-commencement-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/2022\/04\/07\/introducing-this-years-gms-commencement-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing This Year&#8217;s GMS Commencement Speakers!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With commencement coming up in just a few short weeks, we\u2019d like to take a moment to highlight the four student speakers selected for the upcoming Graduate Medical Sciences Commencement ceremonies.<\/p>\n<p>Three students were chosen to speak at the Master\u2019s Commencement Ceremony, and one student was chosen to speak at the MD, PhD, &amp; MD\/PhD Commencement Ceremony. All speakers were chosen to represent their respective programs.<\/p>\n<p>Meet each one below:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/gms\/files\/2022\/04\/image-74.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"139\" height=\"175\" class=\"wp-image-85839 alignleft\" \/>Christian Arbelaez, MS in Medical Sciences Candidate<br \/>\n<em>Master&#8217;s Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker<\/em><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Originally from Houston, TX, Christian came to Boston University to join the MS in Medical Sciences (MAMS) program. With commencement approaching, Christian looks back fondly on his time at MAMS and all the memories he has made with his classmates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was incredible to see how we came together and supported each other as a class during the pandemic,\u201d Christian said. \u201cI know that these relationships we\u2019ve formed will last for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even though his time in the MAMS program is coming to a close, Christian won\u2019t have to say goodbye to Boston too soon. He\u2019s earned a place at Boston University School of Medicine and will be returning to begin his medical education there.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/gms\/files\/2022\/04\/image-73.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"138\" height=\"174\" class=\"wp-image-85838 alignleft\" \/>Kara McNeil, MS in Physician Assistant Candidate<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><em>Master\u2019s Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kara moved a few hours north from Long Island, NY, to pursue a career as a physician assistant at Boston University. Reflecting on the 28 months she has spent in the program, Kara told us that her best memories have come from the time she has spent with her classmates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe BU PA program is unique in how supportive the students are of each other,\u201d Kara said. \u201cI\u2019ve made lifelong friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following commencement, Kara will return home to Long Island and pursue a career in addiction medicine or emergency medicine.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/gms\/files\/2022\/04\/image-71.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"144\" height=\"181\" class=\"wp-image-85836 alignleft\" \/>Elizabeth Wade, MS in Biomedical Forensic Sciences Candidate<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><em>Master\u2019s Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Elizabeth\u2019s journey to Boston University brought her all the way from California to New England.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Moorpark, CA, Elizabeth said that living in a brand-new city on the opposite side of the country was one of her favorite parts about her time at BU.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was my first time experiencing the seasons,\u201d she told us.<\/p>\n<p>After commencement, Elizabeth plans to return to the West Coast. She has accepted a position as a criminalist at the San Diego Police Department Crime Laboratory.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/gms\/files\/2022\/04\/image-72.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"148\" height=\"186\" class=\"wp-image-85837 alignleft\" \/>Jeffrey Kuniholm, PhD in Microbiology Candidate<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><em>MD, PhD &amp; MD\/PhD Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jeffrey grew up in Athol, MA, and came to Boston University to pursue his PhD in Microbiology.<\/p>\n<p>During his time at BU, Jeffrey made it his mission to build a strong community of PhD students, even taking on the role of president of the PhD Student Organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was exciting to connect students from different programs and help forge scientific collaborations and lasting friendships,\u201d Jeffrey said.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffrey won\u2019t be moving too far away after commencement. He has accepted a scientist position at Visterra Inc., a biotechnology company located in Cambridge that focuses on the discovery and engineering of antibodies against challenging targets relevant to human disease.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Congratulations to our student speakers and all our 2022 GMS graduates! We\u2019re looking forward to seeing each one of you take the stage next month.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t yet, remember to mark your calendars for commencement on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The GMS Master\u2019s Commencement Ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., and the GMS\/BUSM MD, PhD, &amp; MD\/PhD Commencement Ceremony will begin at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/students\/commencement\/\"><strong>Click here for more information<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With commencement coming up in just a few short weeks, we\u2019d like to take a moment to highlight the four student speakers selected for the upcoming Graduate Medical Sciences Commencement ceremonies. Three students were chosen to speak at the Master\u2019s Commencement Ceremony, and one student was chosen to speak at the MD, PhD, &amp; MD\/PhD [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20706,"featured_media":85841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[795,54,1534],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85789"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85789"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86556,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85789\/revisions\/86556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}