遗产学院庆祝2024届学生的成就

在一对庆典上, the 传统骨科医学院 recognized the achievements of students in the Class of 2024, and introduced a new award created to honor the legacy of one of the college’s founders.

“Today we will recognize the crème de la crème of the class of 2024 – students who have gone above and beyond in their scholarship, 研究与实践,——肯·约翰逊, D.O., executive dean of the Heritage College and chief medical affairs officer for newbb电子平台, 在毕业典礼上对学生们说. “We will also have an opportunity to recognize collective achievements, 比如99%的匹配率.”

除了年度表彰, 例如部门和临床奖项, this year’s ceremony included the new Dunigan Award for Osteopathic Advocacy. 这个奖项是为了纪念乔治·杜尼根而设立的, 谁主张通过众议院第229号法案, 是谁创立了医学院. Dunigan later served as the college’s first director of government relations.

他的孩子们, 特蕾西和凯文, presented the award which recognized a student who has demonstrated a strong interest in health policy and has been committed to health advocacy at the state and national levels.

Alyssa Lambrecht获得了首届奖项. She is the founding president of the Medical Student Physicians Action Network Club and has submitted frequent testimony to the Ohio legislature. She also serves as vice chair of Doctors for America’s 社区卫生 and Prevention Committee. 在这个角色中, 她倡导预防枪支暴力, 公共卫生宣传和药物滥用预防. On the national level, Lambrecht has educated medical students about addiction medicine.

“我们的父亲为这所学校和它的学生感到无比自豪, 他会因为艾丽莎而激动不已,特蕾西·杜尼根说. 

The celebration of student achievement continued at the first annual Office of 包容 graduation celebration which recognized the accomplishments of the more than 50 graduating first generation students and those who are underrepresented in medicine.

The event was attended by graduates’ friends and family and several former Heritage College alumni including Gregory Hill, D.O. (’86), an orthopedic surgeon, educator and retired veteran of the U.S. 军队.

“Today’s graduates exist because these alums paved the way for them, much like today’s graduates will be paving the way for the next class of OUHCOM graduates,凯利·戴维森说, newbb电子包容部的副主任.

Johnson reiterated the college’s support for first generation and URM students saying he was pleased that time could be taken to recognize the unique accomplishments of these graduates.

“The students that we are celebrating today have overcome significant barriers every step of the way to earning their D.O. 学位，”约翰逊说.

在她的评论中, 毕业生Shenika Zarebski, 退伍军人, 她是四个孩子的母亲，也是家里第一位医生, acknowledged the obstacles she has faced to become a doctor but also the support she has received from her loved ones, 她的毕业生和学院的教职员工, who she said were committed “to fostering an environment where every voice is heard, every perspective is valued and every individual is empowered to thrive. It is through our collective dedication to diversity and inclusion that we have cultivated a richer, more vibrant learning environment – one that strives to mirror the diverse population we will encounter in our careers.”

Zarebski said that one important life lesson she learned was to be audacious.

“我相信大胆是生活中最重要的. Because I, just like each and every one of you here, must move audaciously,” she said. “We have to have the audacity to believe that we can be the first one in our families to become physicians. We have to have the audacity to politely inform that patient that you are the physician caring for them, 但你会很乐意找人帮你移走他们的午餐盘. We have to have the audacity to believe that we can go back to school with four kids and match into general surgery. We must be audacious enough to know that in everything we do we need to reach back and keep this pipeline flowing.”

She concluded by challenging her fellow graduates: “Let us be advocates for change, catalysts for progress and champions for diversity in all its forms. And let us never forget the sacrifices made by those who paved the way for us, nor the responsibility we bear to create a more just and inclusive world for generations to come.”

庆典期间, 学生们得到了白大褂, a tradition that normally occurs at the beginning of their medical education but was not possible for the Class of 2024 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

活动还花了一点时间来表彰杰西卡·佩蒂斯, 她在医学院四年级时就去世了, 并感谢她的家人, 谁出席了会议?.

“I thank God for lending us the precious time we had with Jess – she was one of a kind. 我确信她会成为一名出色的医生,2024届毕业生科特兰·卡塞尔伯里说, who become friends with Pettis in her second year of medical school when they both served on the executive board of the Student National Medical Association. “杰西卡过去是，现在仍然是一盏明灯. 她的一切，她所代表的一切都散发着爱. 我们会非常想念她的.”