UMHS put on a good show indeed for our third annual Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2014 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City on Monday, June 9, 2014. Our gifted graduates, the next generation of physicians, were honored in a streamlined ceremony, with 12 candidates for honors, 17 for high honors, and 12 for highest honors. The ceremony included graduates for December 2013, March 2014 and June 2014.
This was the first time UMHS held the ceremony at the venerable, world-famous Lincoln Center.
WELCOME ADDRESS: UMHS President Warren Ross speaks at Commencement Ceremony at Alice Tully hall, Lincoln Center, NYC, 6-9-14. Photo: Ryan Ross
The processional, “Pomp and Circumstance”, was performed by the West Village Quartet. UMHS Vice President Dr. Jerry W. Thornton and UMHS President Warren Ross gave the welcome address. President Ross spoke about the legacy of UMHS founder, the late Dr. Robert Ross (1918-2011), and his commitment to education at Caribbean medical schools for future U.S. and Canadian doctors.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: NY Congressman Eliot L. Engel. Photo: engel.house.gov/
The motivational keynote speech was delivered by New York Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a big advocate and ally for UMHS. Rep. Engel, who flew in from Washington, D.C., spoke to the graduating class about the importance of medical education and the necessary changes in the U.S. health-care system implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare). The congressman is renowned for being a leader in global health, including an improved reauthorization of the President Emergency Plan for AIDS Assistance (PEPFAR). Within the PEPFAR bill, Rep. Engel included his bill, the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act, increasing support for international TB control activities and research to develop new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines.
The Commencement Address was given by Dr. William Thurman, UMHS Provost, and Dr. Katherine Florecki, the graduating UMHS student with the highest honors, was the featured graduate speaker. President Ross and Dr. David Herrick did the conferral of degrees. Finally, Dr. James Pringle, UMHS Clinical Dean, had all the new doctors graduating from UMHS recite the Hippocratic Oath.
Congratulations to all UMHS graduates.
Honors
Mohamed Balout
Eli Burks
Jerald Eckman
Matthew Fisk
David Lasner
Quoc Ngo
Young Park
Megan Schaaf
Brian Schutzbach
Alessandra Secco
Shawn Stranckmeyer
Irena Zivkovic
High Honors
April Carter
Erin Clough
Quinry Ferreira
Jeremy Freiwald
Ashley Garavet
Laura Gizzi
Aaren Grigg
Todd Hewitt
Asif Iqbal
Thomas Kingston
Courtney Kohn
Andrew Luke
Timothy Messina
Sifau Oladipo
Ronald Rasberry
Jay Rawal
Zachary Stevenson
Highest Honors
Daniel Blatt
Komalpreet Brar
Stephanie Coleman
Katherine Florecki
Robert Giddings
Paul Harnish
Aashish Kumar
Nehal Patel
Shanthi Reddy
Hector Sanchez
Henry Weigle
Kyle Williams
CONFERRAL OF DEGREES: President Warren Ross & Dr. David Herrick handed out the grads' hard-earned degrees. Photo: Scott Harrah
(Top photo) LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: UMHS Class of 2014 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC on 6-9-14. Photo: Ryan Ross
About UMHS:
Built in the tradition of the best US universities, the University of Medicine and Health Sciencesfocuses on individual student attention, maintaining small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. We call this unique approach, “personalized medical education,” and it’s what has led to our unprecedented 96% student retention rate, and outstanding residency placements across the US and Canada. UMHS is challenging everything you thought you knew about Caribbean medical schools.
Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
