("Pomp and Circumstance March No.

1" by Edward Elgar) (audience applauding) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) (stately music) (audience cheering) (stately music) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) (stately music) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) ("Pomp and Circumstance March No.

1" by Edward Elgar) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) - Platform party, please be seated.

Good afternoon, everybody.

I'm Dr. Andrea Amalfitano, Dean of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

It is my pleasure to serve as the dean.

And we welcome all of you to the Hooding and Commencement Ceremony at the MSU Breslin Student Event Center here.

We will see nearly 300 of our graduates from our three sites at East Lansing, the Detroit Medical Center, and the Macomb University Center graduate this evening as doctors of osteopathic medicine.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) I'll please ask if you could turn your cell phones and other electronic devices off, iPads, whatever you brought during the ceremony.

I gotta turn mine off too here.

First and foremost, I'd like to ask our active military graduates and veterans, please rise if you can or raise your hand so we can acknowledge your dedication and service to our country.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Thank you.

I'd ask that everyone please rise, if you can, and join me in the singing of the United States National Anthem performed by the Lansing Concert Band.

("The Star Spangled Banner") (audience applauding) Please be seated.

I'd like to thank the Lansing Concert Band for today's performance conducted by Dr. Sam McIlhagga.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) I'd also like to thank the entire staff here at the Breslin Center for all their preparation and support during this ceremony.

Thank you very much.

(audience applauding) I'd like to now take a moment and introduce and have stand the members of the platform party before you, who do not have a formal speaking part in this ceremony, but are critically important to the success of the graduates that are here today.

Dr. Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., Executive Vice President for MSU Health Sciences.

(audience applauding) Dr. Kirsten Waarala, Associate Dean Medical Education, and Professor, osteopathic medical specialties.

(audience applauding) Dr. Katherine Ruger, Associate Dean Admissions and Student Life, and Associate Professor psychiatry.

(audience applauding) Dr. Marita Gilbert, Associate Dean, Diversity and Campus Inclusion, and Assistant Professor in kinesiology.

(audience applauding) Dr. Susan Enright, Assistant Dean, clerkship education, Associate Professor, osteopathic medical specialties.

(audience applauding) Dr. Anissa Mattison, our Assistant Dean for the COM Detroit Medical Center Campus, and Assistant Professor, osteopathic surgical specialties.

(audience applauding) Dr. Bruce Wolf, Assistant Dean, our COM Macomb Community Center Dean, and Assistant Professor in radiology.

(audience applauding) Dr. C. Patricia Obando, Assistant Dean out of our statewide campus center and Associate Professor, osteopathic surgical specialties.

(audience applauding) Dr. John L. Goudreau, Associate Dean for research and graduate studies, Associate Professor in neurology and ophthalmology, as well, pharmacology and toxicology.

(audience applauding) Dr. Bret Bielawski, Assistant Professor osteopathic medicine specialties, and class advisor.

(audience applauding) And Dr. Richard Bryce, Assistant Professor of family and community medicine, and also class advisor.

(audience applauding) Thank you very much.

It's now my great pleasure to introduce the honorable Melanie Foster, MSU Board of Trustees.

(audience applauding) - Well, first it is great to be back in the Breslin Center!

(audience applauding) And congratulations to the nearly 300 graduates before us today.

On behalf of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, welcome to all graduates, families, and friends who are here at this evening's commencement.

Under the Michigan constitution, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the university by whose authority degrees are awarded.

Today's ceremony represents the culmination of discipline, intellectual work, and creative imagination; certainly no small accomplishment.

For many of you and your families here today, the sacrifices have been long and great.

The degree you have earned acknowledges your success and honors those who have encouraged it.

Our wish is that you will always be leaders who generously use your intelligence and your knowledge to improve the quality of life for your community, to advance the common good, and to renew hope in the human spirit.

Our faculty, the administrators, and especially the MSU Board of Trustees are very, very proud of you.

So please accept our warmest congratulations.

And hey, go Green.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - Thank you, Trustee Foster.

The Michigan Osteopathic Association represents all the osteopathic physicians in the state of Michigan.

Little did you know that they came together, the DOs in the state of Michigan, 1959, 1960, and had the audacity to contemplate the starting of the osteopathic medical school in the state.

They came together, and actually every DO in the state of Michigan at that time pledged $2,000 to start this College of Osteopathic Medicine.

That included DOs that just graduated, so they were entering residency.

That's equivalent, 1960 dollars and inflation is what it is in the last month, that's about $20,000 in today's dollars that they pledged to start this college.

We wouldn't be here without the Michigan Osteopathic Association.

They've been with us as partners throughout our journey of now over 52 years.

And it's my pleasure to introduce to you Dr. Stephen Bell, President of the Michigan Osteopathic Association.

Dr. Bell.

(audience applauding) - Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for having me here today.

I'd like to thank Dean Amalfitano for inviting me to speak on this occasion and for taking a large part of my speech.

(audience chuckles) As president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association, I am truly honored to congratulate you all on graduating from what we feel is our COM, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

MSU COM and MOA have a strong shared connection going back decades.

It was in 1959, as we've heard, that the MOA president announced his intentions to make the creation of a College of Osteopathic Medicine top priority of the MOA.

And that was the foundation on which your class stands today.

As you stand, or excuse me, as you start your residencies, you are taking a piece of MSU COM with you, your trainers, and all of us osteopaths here in the state of Michigan who've worked to build this with you.

I encourage you to stay active within the profession.

We need you.

A large majority of you are staying here in Michigan for your training, and we hope you'll stay here to practice.

I encourage you to join the MOA and become an active participant in the evolution of your profession, and be a part of what it will take to shape our future.

As you move into the next chapter of your career, I offer this advice.

Take time to treasure the connections and relationships you make at every step.

Never let a cell number go.

Look around you.

The friendships you make at this stage will follow you the rest of your life.

Thank you again for having me here today.

It's an honor to be with you.

I and the MOA wish you all great success in your next chapter and beyond.

(audience applauding) - Thank you, Dr. Bell.

It's now my tremendous honor to introduce this afternoon's commencement speaker, Dr. Mia Taormina.

Currently an infectious disease specialist in Chicago, Illinois, she began her medical career here in COM East Lansing, when her star already began to shine, as she was already a member of Sigma Sigma Phi, she was president of the student government association, and graduated as part of the Class of 2004.

She did her internal medicine residency, where she became chief resident, and infectious disease fellowships at Beaumont, formerly Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

She's currently board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease, and is a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists, chairperson of the infectious disease department that serves several hospitals in the Chicago, Illinois area.

She has, as a result of her expertise, held several additional leadership roles and held several academic appointments as well, more recently, advising COVID-19 responses being part of her hospital's COVID-19 task force and response teams.

As a result, Dr. Taormina has received national recognition, including being recognized as a top doctor of the year in infectious disease repeatedly; DuPage Medical Group Physician of the Year in 2020; one Crain's Chicago healthcare heroes in 2020 and 2021; Midwestern University Basic Science Professor of the Year; and the Impresa Awardee in 2021 by the Women's Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, these amongst many awards.

More recently, you may have heard her; she's been a weekly contributor to National Public Radio or NPR Reset, a program providing question and answer expertise to that national audience in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and questions that the public had turned to her.

She was featured by ABC News with her expertise on Zika virus.

And oh, by the way, she's a competitive distance runner and triathlete, an Ironman finisher in multiple Ironman competitions, is a member of several competitive swim teams, and last, but certainly not least, a proud single mother to her amazing daughter, Stella.

Welcome Dr. Taormina.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - Thank you, Dr. Amalfitano.

Good evening, graduates, colleagues, family, and friends.

As you heard, my name is Dr. Mia Taormina.

I am a proud osteopathic physician, a double board certified internal medicine and infectious disease specialist.

And I'm the chair of the department of infectious diseases at one of the largest physician-led, multi-specialty practices in the country.

For the last two plus years, I've had the privilege of spearheading the COVID response for my organization, and have served on the front lines throughout this pandemic.

It is an incredible honor to be invited to this stage today.

It would be cliche to say, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in the same seats you are sitting in at this moment.

In reality, it's been 18 years.

When I was in medical school, I didn't own a cell phone.

My computer was tethered to the wall by an ethernet cord.

I remember so clearly, however, the whirlwind of emotions you're experiencing this evening, as you share this tremendous accomplishment with your family and friends.

Many of you in this room have wanted to be physicians as long as you could remember.

Others began college and never could have imagined it would lead down this road.

Each of you, however, has persevered through arguably the most challenging four years of medical education ever experienced.

And that is certainly an achievement worth celebrating.

Within days of my own graduation from MSU COM, I recall driving down a stretch of road on a sunny spring weekend afternoon.

I don't remember why I looked in my rear view mirror.

The road was wide open and there wasn't another vehicle in sight.

When I did, however, I saw a man on the walking path that flanked the road, collapse.

Instinctively, I turned my car around and raced to see what had happened.

A jogger was calling 911.

I felt for a pulse.

This gentleman was in full arrest.

The jogger asked me, "Do you know CPR?"

I looked up at him, I looked down at the patient, and I said, "Yes, I'm a doctor.

"I'm a doctor."

(audience chuckling) That was the first time those words ever exited my mouth, and it is a core memory I will never forget.

I performed bystander CPR until EMS arrived and assisted with defibrillating the patient and intubating him as well.

I had not yet started day one of my internship, but I knew what I had to do.

A few years later, my internal medicine residency was complete.

When I started my training, I had no intention of specialization until I had the pleasure of working with incredible osteopathic mentors who introduced the challenges of a specialty that literally impacts every single body system and embraces the intricacies of clinical investigation and identification of diseases caused by a host of infectious etiologies.

I could not imagine not continuing to further specialize my osteopathic training.

And I began an infectious disease fellowship at Beaumont Botsford Hospital in 2007.

The following summer on a weekend off, I was enjoying an evening stroll with my mother on Saginaw Bay in Caseville, Michigan.

In the blink of an eye this picturesque evening imploded as my mother looked at me and said the words, "I am dizzy," and collapsed before my eyes.

I didn't have a phone with me.

I didn't even have shoes on my feet!

In that instant, however, every lecture, every lesson, every case presentation, every exam question, and every physical exam I ever completed throughout my entire training raced through my mind as I knew my mother was experiencing a cerebrovascular emergency right before my eyes.

A passerby had a cell phone.

And after calling 911, my first words were, "I'm a doctor.

"My mother is having a stroke.

"Please patch me through to an emergency medical center."

Within minutes, I was speaking with an emergency physician.

And within two hours, my mother had been airlifted to a stroke center for immediate management of what was an acute subarachnoid bleed.

I was a far cry from being a board certified neurologist, but I knew what I had to do.

My mother's alive and well.

She fully recovered and she remains my biggest cheerleader.

(audience applauding) Finishing my infectious disease fellowship and moving to the Chicagoland area to practice brought opportunities to continue to give back to the osteopathic profession.

I've taught second year medical students at Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine for the last 10 years.

And I give lectures locally and nationally for the American Osteopathic College of Internists.

I remember giving a lecture years ago where I outlined how overdue we were for a Spanish influenza-like pandemic.

The lecture detailed the probability that the next big thing would likely be a respiratory virus with human-to-human transmission that could infect the majority of the population of the planet, and hopefully, mercifully would not have a high death rate.

And then it happened.

It was a mere whisper at the end of 2019, but it was on the radar of those of us who study epidemiologic trends and practice infection medicine.

In January 2020, the first case of COVID was identified in the United States.

You all were rolling into the second semester of your second year, starting to get excited about clinicals in the near future.

At that time, my organization did have an infection control task force that I chaired as an offshoot of my departmental role.

In the past, we met to discuss protocols for measles or the Zika virus.

We even had an entire emergency preparedness algorithm designed for the remote possibility that we might cross paths with Ebola.

After that first case of COVID was identified in the U.S, I called a meeting of this task force on January 23rd, 2020, to begin to discuss how to respond if and when cases of COVID were identified in Illinois.

The first case of COVID in Illinois was diagnosed the following day.

By March of 2020, a pandemic was declared.

And two weeks to flatten the curve became the tip of an iceberg none of us could have ever imagined.

In what seemed like an instant, your day-to-day interactions with student colleagues and MSU COM faculty were radically transformed.

You became one of the first ever medical student classes who had to pivot to the resources of technology to patch together a continuing curriculum and maintain the integrity of our osteopathic training.

Beginning in these early months of the pandemic and continuing until this day, I can almost guarantee something else happened.

Although you were only medical students who were better versed early on in physiologic pathways and basic clinical systems topics, but your family, your neighbors, your friends back home, they began to reach out to you.

They reached out for advice.

They reached out for guidance navigating how to stay safe.

They sought clarification of so many contradicting news cycles.

They needed your help.

You were still learning the nuances of physical exams, and yet somehow those closest to you had already decided you were their beacons of hope and their trusted source on all things COVID.

And you were.

You kept a finger on the pulse of this evolving science.

You were a part of relief efforts and volunteer efforts, and eventually testing and contact tracing and mitigation enforcing.

Ready or not, you, too, were essential workers.

You, too, were first responders.

Every single one of us was needed.

The entirety of your third and fourth years were spent on the front lines, alongside those of us with just a bit more longevity in our careers.

You continued to give of your talents while learning and growing in ways that had never been tried before.

You rolled up your sleeves and got vaccinated and encouraged your loved ones to do the same.

You attended countless Zoom lectures, Teams meetings, and spent entire clinical rotations donning and doffing PPE.

Learning opportunities had to be reinvented as surgeries were canceled and outpatient clinics were closed.

And yet you all stepped up to these challenges and helped build a legacy of creative solutions to further your educational journey.

You studied so very hard.

You worked so very hard.

You are sitting here tonight because of it.

As you step out into this next chapter of your training and continue your personal growth, you will take with you the incredible ability to adapt to circumstances thrown at you when you least expect.

None of us ever anticipated the reality of navigating our careers through a global pandemic.

Not a single one of us was prepared.

When we look back on this time, however, we will see that decades of advancement in science have come from these last two years of chaos.

We must learn from this shared experience, or we will be destined to repeat some of the darkest days.

Indeed, we lost so many lives along the way, but we saved so many more.

You see, there will be times in your life when you are called upon to be a part of something much bigger than yourself.

In these exceptional times, you may question your skills, your knowledge, and your capacity to make an impact.

What you don't realize, however, is that in those moments you will have exactly, precisely, and wholly everything you need at that time.

If you always do the best you can with what you have, you will succeed over and over again.

You deserve to be proud of how far you've come.

You are ready; you are worthy.

My sincerest congratulations to the MSU COM Class of 2022.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - Dr. Taormina, if you wouldn't mind coming back up here.

I'd like to present to Dr. Taormina this plaque that reads, "An appreciation as keynote speaker "for the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine "Hooding and Commencement Ceremony, to Dr. Taormina, DO."

(audience applauding) Tremendous story, tremendous physician.

We'll now hear remarks from Miss Sydney Miller, President, Class of 2022.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - Hello, everyone.

Welcome family, friends, MSU Board of Trustees, Dean Amalfitano, distinguished members of the platform party, faculty, staff, veterans, and active service members, and, of course, a very special welcome to my colleagues in the Class of 2022.

(audience applauding) For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sydney Miller.

And I've had the honor of serving, excuse me, I've had the honor of serving as a president of this class over the past four years.

I've gotten to know this class pretty well during my time.

So I'm excited to be here and recount the journey with you all before we start a new one.

I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who is here today to support this excellent class during a monumental moment in our career.

I'm sure it was not easy for all of you to be here today.

Classmates, please look around the Breslin and take a moment to appreciate the support system we have here.

Though this ceremony is to celebrate the end of our medical school journey, it would not have been possible without all the love and support selflessly given to us by those in the stands.

I'd also like to honor those who could not be here today, and those who we are celebrating with in spirit.

To my classmates who have lost loved ones during this already incredibly difficult process, know that those you have loved and lost would be extremely proud of you.

I know a round of applause will not suffice, but classmates, please join me to show our gratitude to our loved ones.

(audience applauding) Thank you.

I'd also like to thank the entire team of faculty, staff, deans, and administrators at MSU COM.

Your leadership through our successes and challenges of which there's been a few, and commitment to turning 301 medical students into the future leaders of osteopathic medicine has not gone unnoticed.

To the class executive board, thank you for all your hard work and your consistent support of the class.

Once again, please join me in a round of applause for the entire MSU COM family that has gotten us here today.

(audience applauding) Thanks.

Let's begin with a brief introduction to our class.

What started as 5,765 applications led to a class of 301.

We are collection of mothers and fathers, spouses, researchers, volunteers, and leaders.

And today we get to add the word doctor to the list.

(audience cheering) Yeah.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Classmates let that one sink in for a second.

We have taken approximately 73 exams, survived 37 courses, completed 80 weeks of rotations, and most recently celebrated match week.

And now we are soon to head off to life's next big opportunity as residents representing 22 specialties.

Before I get ahead of myself in celebrating our most recent accolades, let's not forget that this journey started long before medical school.

What now feels like ages ago, undergrad and for some grad school were instrumental in setting the tone for the hours of studying we dedicate ourselves to during med school.

Through the MCAT studying, the hours spent at extracurriculars, and the fear of not making it into medical school, we push forward.

Some of us were first generation college students, and some had entirely different careers prior to medicine.

Each of us came with different experiences under our belts, succeeded through the application and interview process, and were admitted to MSU COM.

When we first started medical school, there was a bit of uncertainty about what our experience would look like.

With a new university president, new college dean, and a new leadership plan in place, the college prepared to write past wrongs and focus on advancing the field of osteopathy.

And then in came the Class of 2022.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we walked through the awkward yet welcoming clapping tunnels in Fee Hall during orientation, ready to get going.

And by get going, I don't just mean studying, though we've done plenty of that; I mean, actually getting to know one another, something that was instrumental in shaping our class and in the moment we took for granted not realizing it would get taken away from us halfway through medical school.

From the beginning, it has been clear that our class has an unparalleled sense of comradery.

Whether it was sharing homemade study guides, Anki decks or memes, thank you, Cody Paul, wherever you are, (audience cheering) yeah, someone in our class always pulled through.

We worked together in 30 student organizations, played on many intramural sports teams, and even socialized on Med School Mondays.

Despite fighting over study rooms at DMC and MUC and sitting on the clanking heaters during lecture in East Lansing, we found a way to get through it together.

As Dr. Ruger so graciously stated, our class's positive, collaborative attitude brought in a new wave of energy to the college.

After a successful two years of in-person classes, we were preparing to take our first round of board exams and to begin our clinical rotations when our worlds were turned upside down by a global pandemic.

Quite unexpected to say the least.

What we thought would be a two-week break from in-person activities turned into a completely new reality.

We adjusted to constant changes in our curriculum, evolving COVID policies, and personal hardships all while learning how to help those who were suffering at the hands of the pandemic.

We showed up to the hospitals, covered in PPE of course, and learned patient care as the world of medicine changed right before our eyes.

This experience has been far from easy, but I believe we have learned to be resilient, to pursue a mission in the face of adversity, and remain committed to our patients despite the circumstance.

Instead of shying away from the unknown, we leaned into it.

As we now move forward as physicians, I urge you to remember the importance of interpersonal connection in a world where virtual lectures and meetings are becoming more and more commonplace.

Just as our class benefited from the sense of community and connection amongst each other, our patients will also value our meaningful connections as we serve them throughout our careers.

As trusted osteopathic physicians, we must remain loyal to giving our patients care they deserve by advocating for them, listening to them, and continuing to learn from them, just as we did our classmates during medical school.

The state of healthcare is and will always be rapidly evolving, so we must remain diligent and flexible as changes come our way.

I think making it through medical school and learning in COVID's dynamic and hostile environment has taught us this, but it's worth restating as our responsibilities will only intensify over time.

I won't pretend to know what residency will look like, but I can guarantee that many moments will look quite different than what we now expect.

I urge you to lean into future uncertainties, take challenges as they come, and continue to create relationships with those around you.

A favorite quote of mine that I'd like to leave you with is if you want to go fast, go alone.

But if you want to go far, go together.

If you want to go far, go together.

To the Class of 2022, thank you for allowing me this incredible opportunity as president of the class and for an amazing four years at MSU COM.

We are now ready to give back to and heal our communities because this is what we've been preparing for for the past four years.

Cheers to achieving our goals, to learning more than we ever imagined, to questions from Macomb, and to officially becoming doctors today.

I'm so incredibly proud of us.

Congratulations, everyone.

Thank you.

And go Green.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - Thank you, soon-to-be Dr. Miller.

We will now prepare the graduates for hooding.

Platform party, please take your positions by your graduates.

And graduates, please rise and face the audience.

(audience cheering) Platform party, faculty, family, and mentor hooders, please rise, and also take your positions by your graduates.

I will now ask you to hood your graduates.

(audience cheering) (audience applauding) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) (audience cheering) (audience applauding) (audience cheering) Wonderful.

I ask that the graduates please remain standing and face the stage now, and all others can take your seats.

(audience cheering) This is my power moment.

On behalf of the president, who has delegated to me the authority of the state of Michigan vested in the Board of Trustees, I confer upon all of you the degree for which you have been recommended with all the rights and distinctions to which they entitle you.

According to custom, you may now move your tassels from the right side of your caps to the left.

Congratulations, doctors!

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Wonderful.

You can go ahead and please be seated.

This act represents the conclusion of a great achievement and marks the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service to your fellow men and women.

It's an achievement worthy of celebration, and we are here today to celebrate this fact with you.

COM staff, please prepare the graduates to accept their diplomas.

Mr. Jody Knol and Mr. Mark Bashore from MSU WKAR Radio will be presenting the graduates this evening.

Give them a round of applause, they do a great job.

(audience applauding) Dr. Bielawski and Bryce, please take your place at the end of the stage to hand out the alumni pins.

You're all alumni now.

- [Announcer] Dr. Sidney Nicole Miller.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ayden Lawrence-William Harris; captain, U.S. Army.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Vinai Yeruva Reddy.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sweta Komanduru.

(audience applauding) Dr. Lauren Elizabeth Lowes.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jefrey Turnbull.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Emery Merrick Weiss.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Audience Member] Go Emery.

- [Announcer] Dr. Eric Pearson.

(audience applauding) Dr. Brett Pelowski.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Patrick Michael McBride.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Shawn Gandhi.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Timothy Lauzon.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Thayer John Morton.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Eliana Small.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Hamdi Farah.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Terryce A. Nederhood.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Amit Raizada.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nicholas Charles Schimmel.

(audience applauding) Dr. Shikhar Shant.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Amanda Leah Paulus.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jacob Markovic.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Saiishitha Nalamolu.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jeremiah Palmer.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Garrett Pehote.

(audience applauding) Dr. Casey Renee Walter.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Elizabeth Marie Ping.

(audience applauding) Dr. Samantha Tremmel.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alicia Camille Speak.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Announcer] Megan Jo Wudkewych.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Martin Enos.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) John Jefrey.

Dr. John Jefrey Italiano.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anisa Yazan Musleh.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Katherine Leigh Pestun Moore.

(audience applauding) Dr. Stephanie Mackenzie.

(audience applauding) Dr. Mohammed David Turfe.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Michelle Mary Barbat.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Matthew Thomas Allos.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nabeel Shahzad.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Casey Anne Keils.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Beth Sara Schwartz.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jessica Seledotis.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ryan Korlewitz.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jonathan Letko; captain, U.S. Army.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kellen Franklyn Mandehr.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Zachary Howarth.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Dana Rachel Page.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Daniel C. Blascak.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Moriah Jean Moore.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Olga Christina Caruso.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Samantha Joy Itchon.

(audience applauding) Dr. Claire Victoria Walters.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Announcer] Dr. Taylor Tenbrock.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Michelle Lee Andary.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Shayla Alvina McMahon.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anuja Nikam.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sherry Xue-Yin Li.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jacob Tran.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gillian Sophia Tyner.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Monica Victoria Masucci.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alisha Manocha.

(audience applauding) Dr. Benjamin David Goodman.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jack Yarema.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sheebani Talati.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Lauren Bauer.

(audience applauding) Dr. Francesca Tiberio.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rachel Nicole Eaton.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Erin Marie Vitale.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Brandon DeLong.

(audience applauding) Dr. Travis N. Cook.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Zachary P. Morehouse.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nathan John Holmes.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Saheli Ghosh.

(audience applauding) Dr. Tiana De Carolis.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christopher John Joseph.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Robert Stephen Huth III.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gina Marie Newsome.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nabila Khan.

(audience applauding) Dr. Saaranga Sasitharan.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Catherine Lee.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jack Dennis Brodeur.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Erika Joy Tvedten.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gideon Lee.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Trevor Glenn Gohl.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Marco Lin.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alex Vanwoerkom.

(audience applauding) Dr. Brandon James Wallace.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Marwa Hojeij.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rasha Khanafer.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sheema Fatima Rehman.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Lalaine Anne Ordiz Cordovez.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Maricar Gener.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Betsy Schriefer.

(audience applauding) Dr. Navin Neil Abro.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alexandra Schulte.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Adam Gwizdala.

(audience applauding) Dr. Maya Rose Golan.

(audience applauding) Dr. Allison Elaina Cole.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Darryn Keiichi Wong.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. John D. Davis.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anthony Nicholas Paterra.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alex Saunders.

(audience applauding) Dr. Nicholas James Paron.

(audience applauding) Dr. Katherine Emily Woods.

(audience applauding) - [Announcer] Dr. Sydney Rubin.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Maria Rose Rutiselli.

(audience applauding) Dr. Danielle Elizabeth Ross.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Hanin H. Hamie.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Zachary Johnson Walker.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alexander William Athens.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Lindsey Sinclair Johnson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Priya Sankaran.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Erin Johnson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Maria N. Pluszczynski.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Julie Ruehl.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Tonye Beatrice Burutolu.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Morgan Crofoot.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christine Kathleen Graham.

(audience applauding) Dr. Kelly Lillian Parker.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Aaron Casey Heath.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Erika Jayne Glatz.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Chloe Wakefeld Page.

(audience applauding) Dr. Chase William Kataline.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Omar Alazem.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Justin Cykiert.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Joshua Michael Szczepanski.

(audience applauding) Dr. Maximilian Chandra Volk.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Michael Francis.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Zachary Allan Ohs.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Andrew Potter.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Matthew Robert Jones.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Vickie Xin.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nina Rackerby.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Abbey Elizabeth McKee-Boyes.

(audience applauding) Dr. Nieem Alatassi.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Brian Thomas Barnett.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christopher David Anderson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Eric Ross Litman.

(audience applauding) Dr. Harrison Vincent Moynihan.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jordan Richardson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ronald Te.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Hassan Khanzada.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ida Nessa Ahmady.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. David James Funk.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Andrew Wolfgang Sagante.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christian Dieter Rohl.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sarah Louise Schluckebier.

(audience applauding) Dr. Rachel Nicole Alexander.

(audience applauding) Dr. Tyler Quentin Andrews.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Evan German.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kyle Charles Rau.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christopher Ng.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alycia Christina Bellino.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nora McHeik.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ena Muhamedovic.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ryley Mancine.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Caleb Lindstrom.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Latifa Dourra.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Christopher William Davis.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Megan Elizabeth Seamer.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Guiseppe Leonidas Calandrino.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Holly MacIntyre.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Saniya Jain.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Irgena Hafzi.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Husain Jabber.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kristina Marie Powell.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Samantha Lee Leadbetter.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alexandra Sasha Laykova.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Elisabeth Andreas Arndt, PhD, Medical Anthropology.

Dissertation: "Structural Risk: "The Ambiguous Grammar of HIV Risk "in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, PrEP, Administration "in New York."

Advisor: Linda Hunt, PhD, Professor, Retired, Department of Anthropology.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Janice Prescod.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Fadi Kathawa.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Announcer] Dr. Sergio J. Villegas.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gabriella Dina Dyke.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Johnice Faith Littlejohn.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rebecca Prafke.

(audience applauding) Dr. Casey Paul Schukow.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Court Ryan Webster.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Samuel Paul Reenders.

(audience applauding) Dr. Zachary Thomas Morgan.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kevin Watat.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Miguel Gomez Rodriguez.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Elizabeth Ann Barrett.

(audience applauding) Dr. Kaitlin Holmes.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Hannah Guider.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alana Karie Koepf.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alla Albonijim.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Emma Christine Flynn-Kopko.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rebecca Lynn Bremer.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Mikayla Mary Depuydt.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Cody Samuel Paul.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Lane Thomas Olds.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Naveen Kakaraparthi.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. John Paul Kruszewski.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Angelina Ailda Cerimele.

(audience applauding) Dr. Brette Smith.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anthony Vincent Cook.

(audience applauding) Dr. Nicholas Casimer Hall.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Aaron Chow, PhD, Physiology.

Dissertation: "The Role of Enteric Glial Cells "in Immune Activation in the Gut."

Advisor: Brian Gulbransen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Mohammad Mustafa Ahmadzai, PhD, Physiology.

Dissertation: "Novel Roles for Enteric Glia "in Intestinal Motor Circuits and Gut Motility."

Advisor: Brian Gulbransen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Cameron Schneider.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kristopher Zuhl.

(audience applauding) Dr. Zachary Timmerman.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Tasneem Abu-Zahra.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Safeya Thompson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Donald Gusfa.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jacob Babb.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anna Rae Sall.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Amanda Joy Stevens.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Angela Shermetaro.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Adam Christopher Seal.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Mehdi Basam Swaid.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Audrey Hoebecke.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Briana To, PhD, Physiology.

Dissertation: "The Role of E2F5 "in Normal Mammary Gland Development and Breast Cancer."

Advisor: Eran Andrechek, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology.

(audience applauding) Dr. Brittany Ladson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kelsey Johnson.

(audience applauding) Dr. Shelby Willey.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rachael Eby.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Matthew John Heussner.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jason Greib.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Announcer] Dr. Alec Ballesteros.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jacob William Blanchett.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nathan Woeber; Lieutenant, U.S. Navy.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Daniel Caylor.

(audience applauding) Dr. Tabtila Rahman Chowdhury.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alaina Bernard.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jessica Creech.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Keyunna Sharon Austin.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Mitchell Robert Bobcean.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Alexander Nicholas Christofs.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Natasha Kizy.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Madison Garish.

(audience applauding) Dr. Gurveer Gill.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Taniyat Gahl.

(audience applauding) Dr. Yajing Ji, PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Dissertation: "Characterization of Signaling Networks "in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension."

Advisor: Richard Rick Neubig, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

(audience applauding) Dr. John David Gezon.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jack Palmer.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. McKenzie Marie Farthing.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gurveer Singh Deol.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Ahmad Daher.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rahul Lekhwani.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Cindy Xinyu Zhang.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Kayla Anne Hinton.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Lindsey Alexandra Mohney.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. C. Kenyata Witington.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Anthony B. Ketner.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Emmett Allen Smith.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Cameron Raich.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Victor Wong; Captain, U.S. Army.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Amit Adam Wernette.

(audience applauding) Dr. Bailey Kay O'Neil.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Paul Christopher Weber.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jonathan R. Hernandez.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Cameron Jason Harvey; Captain, U.S. Army.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nathan Cowdin.

(audience applauding) Dr. James M. Bolan.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jeffrey Paul Kern.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Elizabeth Mary Giaimo.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jordan Walker.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Catherine Rose Molnar.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Arielle Klarissa T. Aughenbaugh.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Mehma Singh.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Krista Young.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Atheel Yako.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Raquelle Lardaisia Wilson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Esam Mohamed Abobaker.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Sahithi Chinnam.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Nupur Kumar.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Jason Schick.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Devon Newsom.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Natalie Marie Wall.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Vixey Silva.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Gina Michela Ruggirello.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Adam Munir Basha.

(audience applauding) Dr. Jake Mykel Vinton.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Amy Freeland.

(audience applauding) Dr. Anthony Rotondo.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Dr. Rae Celline Reye Felismino.

(audience applauding) Dr. Siva Aswini Kumaravelu.

(audience applauding) Dr. Brandon Raymond McCoy.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - [Announcer] Dean Amalfitano, I present to you the 2022 class of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of Michigan State University.

(audience cheering) (audience applauding) - Incredible.

I am so fired up.

(chuckles) I am not gonna be able to sleep tonight, let me tell you, after that.

I wanna ask the vice presidents of the class, Dr. Ayden Harris, Dr. Vinai Reddy to come forth and administer the Osteopathic Pledge to their peers.

Is the president also gonna join them on this?

Please, Dr. Miller.

The Osteopathic Pledge was administered to these three physicians and colleagues earlier this afternoon, just before the ceremony.

The floor is yours.

- All right, thank you.

- We ask the Class of 2022 to stand, and we invite any other osteopathic physicians here today to rise to read the Osteopathic Pledge, which you will find in your program.

Please read along with us.

When finished, please be seated.

- All right?

Ready?

- Mm-hmm.

- Let's do it.

- [Doctors] As members of the osteopathic medical profession, in an effort to instill loyalty and strengthen the profession, we recall the tenets on which this profession is founded: the dynamic interaction of mind, body, and spirit; the body's ability to heal itself; the primary role of the musculoskeletal system; and preventive medicine as the key to maintain health.

We recognize the work of our predecessors have accomplished in building the profession, and we commit ourselves to continuing that work.

I pledge to: provide compassionate, quality care to my patients; partner with them to promote health; display integrity and professionalism throughout my career; advance the philosophy, practice, and science of osteopathic medicine; continue life-long learning; support my profession with loyalty in action, word, and deed; and live each day as an example of what an osteopathic physician should be.

Please be seated.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) - I'm gonna ask our newly-minted doctors to stand up.

Please.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) Doctors, turn around and honor your families, friends, significant others, spouses, and all those that helped you get to this moment today.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) They have always been with you and they will always be with you.

Doctors, please also give a round of applause to all of our college's staff that participated today and through your four years here, not only for their months of preparation with today's ceremony, but also for their years of dedication to the Class of 2022.

Please congratulate the staff of COM.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) And doctors, finally, I ask that you give a round of applause to the tremendous faculty members in our college who have also imparted upon you all they know to make you the great physicians we all know you will become.

Please congratulate the faculty.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) You can be seated now.

It's wonderful, as you get seated, I get to be one of the first to call you doctors.

You came up here and it is really wonderful.

I ask you to, all of you, to look back towards the back of the program book that you have for the names of the award recipients presented at this afternoon's banquet and award ceremony.

Let's give a round of applause to all the recipients of these awards.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) I wanna thank Dr. Bell and Dr. Taormina for joining us today and their inspirational words.

We thank you so much for honoring us with your wisdom, and wish you all the best on your continued efforts on behalf of the profession.

Thank you very much.

(audience applauding) Now, I next want to acknowledge the pledge that we just made and how important those words truly are.

If you take a moment after we're done here today, or maybe you've got a breather during your residency or whatever, I want you to remember that pledge, because that pledge is critical.

'Cause clearly if a single physician chooses not to uphold the tenets of our pledge, that can potentially cause great harm, not only those patients who trust us as physicians, but also to the osteopathic and medical professions as well.

So take those words to heart, that pledge you just took.

It's why we like to have the profession repeat them on occasions like this to just revisit that and remember why we're here and how important it is what we hope to do.

Now, I'm here once again to confidently proclaim that our profession and this college is thriving.

Since Dr. Miller, now, noted how many applicants were in her class, I'll note that we have increased that number of applicants to over 8,000 annually, these past few years alone; an increase that outpaced most other medical schools, both allopathic and osteopathic nationally.

In fact, look around you, doctors.

There are right now 8,000 people who wanna be where you are sitting right now.

Congratulations.

Yeah.

(audience applauding) Why is it that so many wanna be in your shoes right now?

I think a major reason is our ability to embrace the concept that MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is a place where the science of medicine has not forgotten the art of medicine.

So what do I mean by that?

First of all, you, as graduates of MSU COM, have received an unrivaled education.

For example, you already can diagnose incredibly complex diseases by merely asking a few questions, utilizing your enhanced osteopathic physical examination skills fostered by osteopathic concepts of anatomy and physiology.

And based upon that, and if necessary, intelligently request lab tests, imaging technologies, genomics tests, molecular tests to confirm what you already know to be true.

You don't order tests to figure out what's going on.

You already know; you order those tests to confirm what you already know.

You can deliver cutting edge technologies now with your degree, treatments from osteopathic manipulative treatment to gene therapy and everything in between.

This is the science of medicine and you are second to none in your education on this aspect of being a physician.

But beyond that scientific prowess, your college has also taught you that being a physician is not simply confined to reducing human ailments to a nucleotide, or a single problem or a single symptom that you momentarily address and then senselessly move on to your next case.

Your education here at MSU COM has taught you that our profession, and yet our society demands that medical treatment follow a holistic approach; a progressive philosophy that not only treats single symptoms, but asks the extra questions to know more about your patient's current state, address multiple issues, and, if necessary, preserve maximal health and always try to prevent disease in the individual, the family, and the communities where we serve.

This is the art of medicine.

We, now you, we're colleagues, we join nearly 140,000 osteopathic physicians across this nation.

And we've been united in our unwavering commitment to preserve health for the whole person.

And our passion for pursuing this art, this medical art, it's still a medical art, is growing as confirmed by the explosive growth of the osteopathic profession over the past 130 years, and by the presence of MSU COM, now here for over 52 years.

Indeed, there are now over one in four medical students in the United States right now are in an osteopathic medical school.

There are over 10,000 DOs now licensed in the state of Michigan.

Most of them are our alumni, if you look up the number, and I have.

I've got your email addresses.

(audience chuckling) If you look at the major health systems in this state, just go on the site and look up doctor, my physician, whatever, you'll see that many DOs staff the major medical systems across this state.

And in fact, in primary care specialties you'll see many DOs, if not, the majority of the physicians are DOs.

And again, most of them are our alumni.

You're joining about 7,500 alumni right now as you exit the room.

We really have come a long way.

And Trustee Foster and EVP Beauchamp, as representatives of MSU, I think together we can all take great pride in knowing that the establishment of this college at this university is what propelled this profession, this osteopathic profession.

If you actually look at charts, you'll see that the number of osteopathic physicians started to skyrocket the day this college was started and it's led to this explosion to being the fastest growing medical profession in the country right now.

And I don't think any other dean at any other medical school would argue with me that because of the establishment of this university's faith in this college, that the profession is where it is today.

So thank you very much for supporting us as a college all these years.

(audience applauding) I also ask you now to not forget what your medical school has provided to you, as you proceed into your careers, as you move into residencies now, and you move beyond the ivory towers of MSU COM.

In fact, I'm telling you, you need to stay in touch with your medical school from this day onward.

Why?

You will learn as I have and as countless alumni before you have learned that most everything you accomplish going forward professionally, the good deeds, the impact, the gratitude you receive, the awards, the accolades, these accomplishments will all be fundamentally due to the efforts this college has made to educate you these past four years.

There can't be any denying this fact.

For example, in my short 10 years as dean, I have met countless alumni of this college and they all agree with this sentiment.

In fact, many alumni have made me aware that for them MSU COM is their anchor.

Think about why.

Why is MSU COM their anchor?

Well, many MSU COM graduates trained in hospitals, did their residencies or their fellowships at institutions and clinics after they left COM, and those institutions no longer exist.

Yet, MSU COM not only continues to exist, but has been here for steady state and grown for now 50 plus years.

And we plan on continuing to grow its efforts for another 50 years.

But we need your help.

You should not forget us.

And you need to find ways to keep in contact and help us as we together now plan to train the next 50 years of world-class physicians and provide those future osteopathic physicians ever increased levels of expertise and experiences that we provided to you during your education here at MSU COM.

With those thoughts, I offer you my congratulations and I wish you all tremendous good luck.

And go Green!

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) The Breslin Center will stay open for about an hour after the ceremony, so you can take pictures with family and friends and enjoy the moment.

And now I ask you all to stand as we sing "MSU Shadows," which is found in your program, again with accompaniment of the Lansing Concert Band.

(steady music) (audience applauding) Our ceremony has concluded.

I would ask our guests to remain seated until the entire platform party and all graduates have recessed out of the arena.

Just wanna let you know, we're gonna have a special guest up in the Hall of History.

If you wanna go up there after the ceremony, you'll see who that is.

Thank you so much for being here today.

Congratulations.

("Pomp and Circumstance March No.

1" by Edward Elgar) (stately music) (stately music)