UMHS held its 6th Annual UMHS Commencement Ceremony for the fourth year in a row at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City on Friday, June 2, 2017. The “next generation of physicians” was honored in an inspiring ceremony, with 13 candidates for Honors, 27 for High Honors and 16 for Highest Honors.
Graduates for September 30, 2016; December 31, 2016; March 31, 2017; April 30, 2017 and June 2, 2017 were also listed in the official program.
The UMHS Endeavour looks back at this celebratory day for UMHS graduates and their friends and families.
The West Village Quarter performed “Pomp and Circumstance.”
The Welcome Address was given by UMHS Vice President Jerry W. Thornton, Ph.D . followed by President Warren Ross, JD.
U.S. CONGRESSMAN ELIOT ENGEL: Congressman Engel gave the keynote and talked about the importance of affordable health care. Photo: Island Photography
Congressman Eliot Engel, JD of New York gave the keynote speech. Congressman Engel is the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, including the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. He is the founder and Co-chair of the House Oil and National Security Caucus, which is seeking clean, energy-efficient alternatives to America’s reliance on oil. He also sits on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, the LGBT Caucus, the Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Anti-Semitism, the HIV/AIDS Caucus, the Long Island Sound Caucus, and the Animal Protection Caucus, among others. Prior to serving on the New York State Assembly (1977-1988), where he chaired the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and the Subcommittee on Mitchell Lama [Affordable] Housing, Mr. Engel was a teacher and guidance counselor in the New York City public school system.
Congressman Engel spoke about the importance of providing affordable health care for everyone at a time when the future of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is in jeopardy in Washington.
GRADUATE HONORS SPEAKER: James Rod MacGregor, M.D. Photo: Scott Harrah/UMHS
The Graduate Honors Speaker was James Rod MacGregor, M.D., the graduating UMHS student with the highest honors. President Ross, Edwin Purcell, Ph.D, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Chair and Professor of Anatomy and Professor of Histology at UMHS, George H. Shade, Jr., MD, FACOG, FACPE, Dena of Clinical Sciences and Donna Thompson, MDCM, Associate Clinical Dean, did the conferral of degrees.
Finally, Dr. George H. Shade, UMHS Dean of Clinical Sciences, had graduates recite the Hippocratic Oath.
Congratulations to the UMHS Class of 2017, a gifted group of young men and women who are continuing on to prestigious residencies after successfully completing their medical education at UMHS St. Kitts and matching at great hospitals.
GRADUATION AT LINCOLN CENTER: The event was held at Alice Tully Hall in New York City for the fourth year in a row. Pictured: President Warren Ross. Photo: Island Photography
CANDIDATES FOR HIGHEST HONORS
Maria V. Bezares Oliveras
Brett Brownlee
Zachary Carl Cicochetto
Kelley Audrey Donovan
Vanessa Fonseca-Ferrer
Limary Garcia Gonzalez
David Ross Henkin
Aly Husein
Kimber Lee Johnson
Nicholas Kessener (click for blog interview)
Paul Francis Lee
James Rod MacGregor
Rohan Veer Manocha (click for blog interview)
Trudy Kemisha Alexia Penny
Alberto Jose Gonzalez Posada
Sarah Nasreen Saeed
(Top photo) UMHS CLASS OF 2017: Graduates with President Warren Ross (center) at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC. Photo: Island Photography
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.
