CCOM and CHS Classes of 2010 Graduate

Last Friday, the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Health Sciences hosted graduation ceremonies under sunny skies on our Downers Grove Campus. Family and friends gathered in Littlejohn Hall to welcome our newest alumni and congratulate them on completing rigorous programs to become valued and valuable health professionals.

Since these ceremonies are held on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, Dr. G always invites all service members to stand and be recognized. It is a special moment for all of us to thank so many who have served our country. This year Dr. G inaugurated a new tradition on presenting specially engraved coins to our graduates who are serving in the military branches as medical officers.

The graduates entering Littlejohn Hall

At each graduation, Dr. G gives the welcome address, thanking the parents and loved ones for their support of our graduates. She asks them all to stand so the students can give them a rousing round of applause.

Graduation is definitely a family event at MWU

After each graduate is hooded on stage, one representative student speaker gives remarks on behalf of the class. For CHS, OT student David L. Young spoke about his experiences and the camaraderie among his class. He especially thanked his wife and his mother, for their constant support. And he thanked I-88 (the east-west highway that leads into our campus) for getting him to class safely each day, even in the winter snow. For CCOM, Class President Minh-Y Canh gave the remarks. She shared anecdotes gathered from her classmates, including memories of their first two basic science years as well as lessons learned during their rotations. She reminded her classmates that after today, they can no longer say to a patient, "No, I'm not the doctor...I'm just a student." She also expressed how proud she was to call her classmates her colleagues and her friends. Both speeches really captured the spirit of the classes and the strong bonds between the graduates as they embark on their new careers.

To conclude the ceremony, Dr. G then spends a few moments to talk with the class. This year she emphasized that in all the debate about health care reform, very little attention was paid to actual health care. She reminded the students that they are now the ones who will take care of their patients, and they have been well prepared to do so. They have succeeded at MWU and are now ready to enter the healthcare professions. She shared how proud she is of each of them, and reminded them that MWU will always be their academic home.

A graduate proudly displays her new Doctor of Physical Therapy diploma.

Graduations at MWU are a time of celebration and family and pride. Congratulations to the CCOM and CHS Classes of 2010. We know you will make us proud for many many years to come!

Photo Credits and Thanks to: Susan Hershberg