[MUSIC - "POMP AND
CIRCUMSTANCE"] Good afternoon. I'm Ed Hundert, Dean
for Medical Education, and it's my pleasure to welcome
you all to this virtual Class Day Celebration for the Harvard
Medical School and Harvard School of Dental
Medicine, Class of 2021. I so wish we were together
under a big tent on the quad on what is, truthfully, often
a day with either a chilly mist or rain or such
heat and humidity that many people
are actually wearing very little under
their graduation robes. But in the past
year, we've learned a lot about how we can be
socially connected even if we're physically distanced. And despite another Zoom
event, our goal today is to share maximum
joy with you, your families, and
your loved ones who have Zoomed in to join us. Our graduating students
have worked so hard for so many years
to get to today. So I want to start by asking
all the families and friends out there in cyberspace
to give a hand to the graduate in your family. Woo. Now I want to ask our
graduates to give a hand to all your parents and other
family and friends and teachers and mentors
who have supported and loved you through all
those years of hard work. Give them a hand. You know, for me, one of the
best things about Class Day is hearing the student
speakers reflect on their time in medical
and dental school. One of my favorite observations
from a student speech at Class Day some years ago came from
a graduating student who said, "You arrive at HMS
answering most questions 'I don't know,' then after
learning from the experts for four or more years, you
leave HMS answering those questions 'We don't know'." I'd like to
encourage each of you to think of the
medical degree you receive today as
your membership card into the we who don't know, but
the we who have been prepared and pledged ourselves
to find out-- to find out on behalf
of each of your patients based on the most current
information that's known today; to find out better answers
than are known today by creating the answers of the
future through your research; and by solving the
systemic problems that may underlie the
question that was asked through your advocacy
for positive social change. And on that note, I want to
end by complimenting this class for the magnificent graduation
oath that you composed and will be reciting
together shortly. It is absolutely
inspirational in its pledge to do all that and more. And I join all of your
loved ones and teachers in telling you that I couldn't
be more proud of you today. And I couldn't be more excited
to have you join our alumni family that will continue
our connections in so many wonderful ways, and to
have you join us as colleagues in this work, this
mission to alleviate human suffering in this
noble profession that is more important in the
year 2021 and into the future than ever before. We love you and I'm giving
you each a virtual hug. Please remember to
take care of yourselves and to take care of one
another because by the way, your ability to take care of
your patients depends on it. And now to introduce our
Class Day moderators, who put this entire event together. I'd like to turn it over to
someone whose contributions to this class are impossible
to describe in words, someone who's been devoting
himself to you year in and year out, day in and day out, our
amazing Dean for Students, Dr. Fidencio Saldaña. Over to you, Fidencio. Thanks very much, Ed. And a warm welcome to all
of the family, friends, and loved ones of the graduates. And a big congratulations
to all of the graduates of HMS and HSDM. As I was thinking about
today, I reflected back on your first day of school
back in the TMEC Amphitheater. I put a picture of
my kids up and we chatted about the
promise that potential that we saw in all
of you on that day. You have definitely fulfilled
that potential and much more here at HMS and HSDM. Today, I just
wanted to leave you with the small pieces of advice
we talked about that day. The first is to
continue to work hard. You have worked incredibly hard
during your four plus years here at HMS and
HSDM, and we know that you will continue
to do so in the future. You will make an incredible
impact on all of the patients that you care for. Number two is be
kind to yourself and to all of those around you. Being kind to yourself
is particularly important as you continue along the
challenging but fulfilling road of medicine and dentistry. And finally, don't
forget to have fun. Particularly remember to do
things that bring you joy. Continue to connect with
family, friends, and loved ones. Congratulations and
good luck to all of you. With that, I'd like to turn
it over to our three Class Day Co-Moderators, who've done
a tremendous amount of work to make this program possible. It is my pleasure to introduce
Troy Amen, Vartan Pahalyants, and Nick DeMeo. Good afternoon,
everyone, and welcome all to Harvard Medical
School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine's
Class Day Ceremony. First, a heartfelt thank
you to Deans Daley, Hundert, and Saldaña, who brought us
to this important milestone in our lives during the course
of very unprecedented times, who continue to inspire us to
this day with their wisdom, courage, poise, and kindness. Thank you so much. Thank you as well to our unsung
heroes, the custodial staff and the caretakers of this
wonderful institution. To those involved
in dining services, we've missed you all
deeply and we thank you for making our
education possible. And most importantly,
a tremendous thank you to all our loving
family, friends, and mentors. Your encouragement and
your unwavering support during long hours
in the hospital and during grueling
exams have given us the strength and the
confidence to arrive at this beautiful moment. And we are here because of you. Lastly, thank you to the
unforgettable Class of 2021, a class marked by
resilience, by hope, and by a deep love
for one another. What an unforgettable journey
we have taken together and what a privilege we
share to graduate here from Harvard Medical School. Hello, everyone. Thank you and welcome to the
HMS and HSDM Class Day Ceremony. My name is Nicholas
DeMeo, and I am President of the Class
of 2021 at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. While the past year has given
us all unprecedented challenges, I'm thrilled to celebrate
the achievements and resiliency of the Class of
2021 here with you all today. We have only grown
stronger in our mission to alleviate suffering
and improve the health of our greater community. As we transition from
student to doctor to continue this
mission, we also join an accomplished
group of Harvard Alumni. To welcome us as the newest
members of this community is Dr. A.W. Karchmer, the
Chair of Alumni Relations. Thank you. It's a great pleasure to
be with you this afternoon. Preferably it would
be face to face, but given the
circumstances, virtually will have to do for yet
another year at Class Day. First, let me congratulate
you, the members of the Class of 2021 at Harvard
Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Your graduation is a
great accomplishment. I also want to congratulate your
parents and your loved ones, who have stood by
you as you've gone through this educational
process and been so important in supporting you. Welcome to the
Alumni Association. We are delighted to
have you join us. We look forward to you
also joining our efforts as we attempt to
support the school and particularly to support
future generations of students coming through. You are poised to step into
exciting and challenging careers. We are confident
that you are well prepared to do so
and hope that you will find those careers
incredibly fulfilling. You will, however, face the
continued COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, it is
abating in the US, but it will continue to
be a crisis globally. The pandemic has brought out
some of the best in health care providers, including yourselves
as you've engaged as students. Altruism, humanism,
compassion, selflessness, and a strong desire
to relieve suffering. These are the characteristics
that brought you here and hopefully they
will continue. It also, unfortunately, has
exposed some of the weaknesses and the worst
aspects of our health care system, the
inequities that exist, and the adverse consequences
of the social determinants of health and health care. As you leave the school and
join the Alumni Association, we welcome you to join in the
work to relieve suffering-- by patient care,
by doing research, and particularly by addressing
these exposed inequities and the adverse consequences of
social determinants of health care and health,
things that many of you have actually already
been doing as students. As a first step, I invite you to
join us, virtually, of course, but for the reunion events
on the afternoon of June 4, particularly for the
symposium entitled COVID-19, A Wake-Up Call-- Racial Justice in Medicine. Again, congratulations. Welcome to the
Alumni Association. Every good wish for you
personally and professionally as you go forward. Thank you again. Thank you, Dr. Karchmer. Next, I have the pleasure
of introducing my classmate and our first Class Day
speaker, Isabelle Wijangco, with a speech titled Compassion
Takes Intentional Practice. What stories are you carrying
within to be here today? How much did you
dream of this moment, not only for yourself,
but for everyone you carry within your heart? I ask these questions because
when I reflect on the skills that we've been developing
since day one of medical school, I realize that the heart
of what we've been learning is the ability to celebrate
one another's stories, to honor the humanity
of anyone we encounter. Yes, we have learned the
clinical pearls of medicine. We have gone from
needing minutes to work together
during first year and discuss vital signs to
reviewing them in seconds on the hospital floor. We have gone from
having no idea what the kidney does to having a
slightly better idea of what the kidney does. We have made our first
surgical incision. We have made our first
correct identification of heart sounds, our first
delivery of a newborn. And all along throughout these
precious medical school firsts, we were learning to listen. We were learning to
listen for the music that makes the patient
in front of us tick. We were learning to listen
for their stories and history that's vibrating just
below the surface. Because daily in
medical school, we have practiced the language
of asking, How are you today? Conveying to the
person in front of us, maybe a stranger seconds
ago that I am here for you. To think that every
Wednesday during first year we practiced how to
do patient interviews. We watched recordings of
ourselves interviewing, asking ourselves, Did I listen
for what wasn't said? Did I fully show up
for this patient? And do I fully understand
this patient's story? Practicing listening. This is powerful because
in practicing listening and practicing connecting
with one another every day, we were practicing and
cultivating compassion. And in cultivating
compassion, we were learning not only to
be good clinicians, but kind humans, kind leaders. Perhaps one of the hardest
and yet most beautiful aspects of learning to be a
clinician is learning that we and the patients open
up our hearts to work together toward healing. And isn't that what
good leadership is? Meeting someone where they
are, understanding their story, and working together with
them to do the hard work? To close, I would like to
reflect on another skill that we've been practicing
every day in medical school-- reading the room. Now as doctors, as
kind leaders, we have a duty not only to read
the room, but to build it. We can look around the room
and ask the tough questions. Questions like, Who even
gets to be in the room? As a health care provider, as
a patient with access to health care, whose voices
are being heard, and whose voices
aren't even there? And therefore, whose
stories are not being told? In a world confronting
COVID, confronting structural and historical
inequities, confronting racism, we have a duty to ask
those tough questions. Because living with compassion
takes intentionality. Listening, really listening
to someone, takes practice. And leadership takes
all of these things. Since day one of
medical school, we have nurtured not only
our scientific curiosity, but our ability to
show up for one another and to fundamentally
change the room. Today, may we celebrate the
stories that we carry within. May we celebrate the stories
of the many patients who have taught us along the way. May we honor the stories
that don't get to be told. And may we commit
to building spaces where everyone can be heard. Growing together,
learning together over these past few years
and seeing how you all treat your patients
has taught me just how expansive and deeply
kind the human heart can be. To this group, kind doctors,
kind leaders, congratulations. Thank you so much, Isabelle,
for a beautiful and inspiring speech. I now have the pleasure to
introduce our second Class Day speakers, one of my good
buddies and probably the swaggiest dude on campus,
Jamaji Nwanaji-Enwerem. The title of Jamaji's
speech is All Along the Way. Congratulations. You made it. In the end, I was so sure
that all of those sacrifices would be worthwhile. Many of us have or will
hear phrases just like this. And absolutely. You have worked hard and
you should be celebrated. However, after over three
million deaths worldwide, after the last 16 or so months
of fear, suffering, isolation, and economic strife, it
seems inappropriate, even disrespectful if we don't
stop to add a bit more to those words of commendation. In all honesty, we have
long praised resilience, hailing those who are strong
and, despite the obstacles, found or made aware. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic
has helped more of us realize what many
others have long known. Just because a person doesn't
make it to the finish line doesn't always mean
that he or she didn't work as hard as those who did. And more importantly,
those of us who do cross the
finish line along with those of us who
recognize and hail resilience have a responsibility,
a responsibility to work towards the removal
of systemic barriers that, in spite of their drive
or willpower and efforts, hold so many people back. These ideas should be
important in business, law, or any field of study. But these ideas
should be especially important to professionals who
work every day to heal others. We often reflect on the
vulnerability of our patients, how we serve them,
offering them strength in their moments of suffering. But during this
pandemic, when stockpiles of masks and other
protective equipment ran low, new light was shown
on our vulnerability. But in all honesty,
despite any prestige that our profession may have,
we have always been vulnerable. We will always be vulnerable. And in this most recent
moment of vulnerability, it was everyday people,
people who we did not even know who heeded
stay at home orders, refrained from
buying medical masks, donated masks, and did so much
more to help keep us safe. They didn't wait for us
to walk across the stage before they helped. They helped us then and
there in our moment of need. So to our friends, family,
loved ones, and those who we have never met, thank
you for celebrating with us in this moment. But even more, thank you for all
that you did all along the way. Your actions demonstrate
what we all should now know-- that the practice of medicine
extends well beyond what happens in a hospital. Through our everyday
actions, we are in an ongoing state of being
in service with each other. That is, perpetually
being in service of and being served by each other. That's how this thing
called life works. And none of us ever, ever,
ever does it all alone. And because we're
in this together, we all have a responsibility
to make sure that we speak out and act to make life more
equitable for all of us. We all have a
responsibility to figure out how to eliminate gun violence,
including police violence against unarmed persons. We all have a
responsibility to eradicate racism that has for far too long
kept able and willing persons from entering and graduating
from medical school and having a fair shot in
anything else that they pursue. Even if you don't
know these people, even if you will never face
the exact obstacles they face, we all still have
a responsibility to address inequities
in our society. Not later, but right now in
this present moment of need. As onerous as these
feats may sound, I remain hopeful
because many of us have already started doing this
important work as students. Even when the path gets
rough, remain steadfast and know that you
are never alone. My name is Jamaji
Nwanaji-Enwerem, a proud member of the Harvard
Medical School graduating Class of 2021. And to each of you I
say congratulations. You made it. Sure, all of those
efforts appear to be worth it here at the end. But hopefully, we also
worked and continue to work in service
with those around us to make those same efforts
worthwhile all along the way. Thank you and godspeed. Thank you, Jamaji. It is now my pleasure to
introduce my classmate and friend Ashiana Jivraj, who
will be delivering the Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Class Day speech. The title of Ashiana's
speech is Into the Unknown. Class of 2021, administration,
faculty, staff, families, champions, and anyone
else who happens to find this video,
hello and welcome to the day we truly never
expected to arrive, especially in light of the current climate. I'm so honored to speak
today as a part of the HSDM Class of 2021, a class I've only
been a part of for the last two years as I stepped out
to pursue my MBA in 2017. I have, thus, had experiences
with two different classes of 2019 and I'd be remiss
not to highlight them. Classes of 2019,
shout out to you. As slow as I was in figuring out
how to graduate from Harvard, I came to this path
with intention. Nine years ago, I was
traveling in India and I met a woman
who changed my life. It's remarkable-- the moments
that you often don't know will make an impact can change
the entire course of who you become. I don't even know her name. She was a woman who came into
a dental clinic I found myself in. She was making the
decision between dealing with a massive abscess,
causing her immense pain, and putting food on the table. She didn't know how to
navigate the system, how to pay for her care, how
to figure out what to do, and she was able to soldier
through the absolute unknown. And it made her the
picture of resiliency. It is she that I think of
when starting this speech. When we arrived on this
campus, we were lucky. Most of us didn't know
how we made it here and what gift of fate
got us to this point. We, too, were navigating a
system that we didn't know, and other than the
few not so rare ones-- oral surgery-- we weren't
sure what we were going to be and how we were going
to get there, especially after failing time and time
again in identifying normal versus abnormal
cells and histology, identifying the wrong
vessels in anatomy, or adding absolutely nothing
beyond gout toward differential diagnoses in the
flipped classroom. Coming to the dental school,
we struggled to make convergent preparations-- or even
know what that means-- identify the salivary
bacterial load, and to meet our first
patient and promise them treatments we were
learning at the same time. Yet, after every setback
over the last 4 to 6 or even, what, 20, Ryan,
our ENT turned dentist, we've all learned to navigate
a school system that pushed us to thrive in the unknown. If anything, HSDM has taught
us to be flexible, to be agile, and to get back up when we fall. It has made us resilient. Angela Duckworth
states, "Nobody wants to show you the hours
and hours of becoming. They'd rather show the highlight
of what they've become." In many ways, this speech
is the summation of four plus years of becoming--
becoming practitioners, friends, support systems,
significant others, pet parents, and
overall, adults. But it is just the
start of our journey. As our class scatters to all
parts of this country, and some to others, into specialties,
general practice, continuing education,
and the wild unknown, I wanted to take a
moment to reflect on the grit I took to
get here while remaining grateful to those who
helped us along the way. So I look to you, parents,
faculty, mentors, friends, loved ones, staff,
and supporters, and I think the
whole class would agree that without you,
we would not have made it. This day is much more
yours than it is ours. And without you, we wouldn't
have had the strength to navigate this journey. It was made even rockier
this past year by COVID, and somehow I see my
classmates flourishing with higher spirits
than anyone could have imagined, despite the high
global cost of getting here. And while we all may be a little
deaf and hoarse from shouting through three
centimeters of plastic over the excessive
vacuuming clinics, we somehow have all finished
our requirements, shared cases-- though it wasn't
always that easy-- learned to leave
space for one another, fell in love with soy milk,
attended Zoom University only mildly causing one
another distractions, and still managed to,
for the most part, answer the question
of what's next. As Harvard School of
Dental Medicine graduates, we have an inordinate
power to shape policy and to make a
difference in the space. We will learn to
hear our patients, giving names to
those once nameless, and empathizing with those who
have problems beyond our scope, like the woman from India. We will learn that
not only is the mouth the gateway to the
body, but that we can make immense impact daily
on the field of health care. My idol and magical
mentor, Albus Dumbledore, once said, "It is
our choices that show what we truly are far
more than our abilities." And I have no doubt
that the Class of 2021 will make some
exceptional choices. I look forward to continue to
navigate the unknown with you, to work through challenges,
and to remain family. Congratulations. We did it! Thank you, Ashiana. It's an extraordinary honor to
introduce our next speaker, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice. Dr. Rice is currently
the President and Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine. She's the first female to lead
Morehouse School of Medicine and has extensive experience in
patient care medical research, organizational management,
and public health policy. She's also a graduate of Harvard
Medical School, Class of 1987. As a leading infertility
specialist and researcher, Dr. Rice was Founding
Director of the Center for Women's Health Research
at Meharry Medical College, one of the nation's
first research centers dedicated to
studying the greater risk that women of color have
for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart
disease, and HIV, as well as factors including
biology, race, and economics, and how they contribute to
women's health disparities. As an accomplished physician,
scientist, and national leader in health care, Dr. Rice is a
dynamic leader and role model for all students and faculty. Dr. Rice's career reflects
her commitment to education, service, and advancing
health equity, core web values that we
uphold here at HMS and HSDM. Born in Georgia, she received a
bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Georgia
Institute of Technology. After receiving her
medical degree from HMS, she completed a residency
in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University
School of Medicine. She followed that
with a fellowship in reproductive
endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Women's Hospital at
the Detroit Medical Center. Dr. Rice has received numerous
awards and honors, including being elected a member of the
National Academy of Medicine and receiving the American
Medical Women's Association 2011 Elizabeth Black
Gold Medal, as well as the National Medical
Association's OB/GYN 2019 Legend of the Section Award. In 2016, she was also
honored with a membership in the Horatio Alger Association
of Distinguished Americans and received the 2017
Horatio Alger Award. She has received
honorary degrees from the University of
Massachusetts Medical School and Rush University. We're deeply honored to have
Dr. Rice share her wisdom with this year's
graduating students as we officially become
physicians and dentists. Thank you for that
kind introduction. And thank you to the
Harvard Medical and Dental Class of 2021 for inviting
me to be your Class Day speaker this year. I am deeply honored
that you chose me, particularly at this time
in history, a time that has seen the devastation
of a global pandemic on the lives of
millions of people. Yet, we have also witnessed
the incredible heroic response by members of the
medical professions and the scientific community
that have inspired all of us. So it is humbling for me to have
this opportunity to join you today as you begin your careers
in a health care system that has been forever changed by
a once-in-a-century worldwide health care crisis. Having said this,
I have to admit that when Dr. Daley
asked me to speak, I was thrilled as
any alumnus would be to return to their alma mater
to speak to a graduating class. I immediately started to think
about my own Class Day in 1987, and all the various
experiences at Harvard that led to that moment. Now I imagine that most of
you were not around in 1987. So I feel it's important
that I go back in time and start my address with the
reflections of a young, much younger Valerie
Montgomery, who came to Boston in the summer of
1982 to participate in a health professions program
aimed at increasing the number of minorities
applying to medical school, and then matriculating as a
medical student in the fall of 1983. I grew up in Macon,
Georgia, a mid-sized city about an hour south of Atlanta. So when I first
arrived in Boston, there were many things
that were foreign to me, like snow and riding the subway. It was both a culture
shock and enlightenment. I remember being so impressed
with the breadth of museums and artistic events in the city. Yet, it was also very different
than what I experienced growing up in Georgia. To say the least, I was out of
my comfort zone during my time here. But I enjoyed learning
what would be life lessons from the experience. Like a lot of lessons
we learn, they occurred in small, but
instructive moments. For example, I remember at one
point during my years here, a professor changed the
date of the major exam and one of my more obviously
privileged than I classmates was upset because he
could not go to Augusta. Growing up in Macon,
Georgia, I also spent summers with my
grandmother in Wrens, Georgia, not far from Augusta. In my mind, there was nothing
special about Augusta. So I ask, Why do you
want to go to Augusta? And he replied, The Masters. And immediately in my mind,
I question, master for what? Is he starting to get
a master's degree? While I stood confused as to
why he was upset about a trip to Augusta, he was
similarly as confused as to how someone
from Georgia would not know about The Masters. What he didn't realize was
that most African-Americans in Georgia, even in the 1980s,
didn't go to The Masters unless they were a
caddy or a waiter, and African-American spectators
were not welcomed by some there in attendance. At another point in time,
I entered an elevator and asked another person
to mash for three. And this person
turned to me and said that he wasn't sure mash was a
real word Now I can tell you, in Georgia, mash is a real word. But it was another
reminder in my early years of how little differences in
perspective mean a great deal and how we all
relate to each other. If you think about it,
it is not a great leap from a difference of
understanding over the word mash to the interpretations
of Black Lives Matter, or the difference
in understanding by a group of people
refusing to wear a mask because of political,
not health, reasons. Perspective and experience
shape our worldview and dictate our responses. A simple change of words-- mash instead of press, our
perhaps the phrase "three please"-- a simple change of words
created a difference between me and the other person
on that elevator. The different experience
around The Masters created a divide between
me and my classmate. The question I continue
to wrestle with, even today as I
speak to you, though, is whether this is a perceived
difference, a perceived divide. What do these experiences mean? Now I know many of you
have similar stories, seemingly small moments that
left an indelible impression because it highlighted
a difference-- a gap, perhaps a divide. Now there were also
some big moments. None more impactful
though than the passing of my lab partner,
Marlon Sellers, a kind, gentle, thoughtful
individual who endured my fear of anything
that had more than four legs and crawled, which he
kindly took care of for me either in Vanderbilt
Hall or as we were leaving the anatomy
lab on late evenings. I thought I wanted
to be a neurosurgeon. He, too, had a
surgical interest, but advised that we were
early on in our exposure, so we could keep an open mind. I remembered that as I
completed my third year and chose reproductive
endocrinology as my subspecialty, I
first had to complete a residency in OB/GYN. Marlon's voice was in my ear. Keep an open mind. Thank goodness for the
sound advice of Dr. Alvin Poussaint and Miss Brenda Lee,
and the bedside manner of Drs. Isaac Schiff and Bob
Barbieri; the patience of Dr. Dan Toshinski as I
started my research adventures, and of course my long-term
mentor to this day, Dr. Ann Kiessling, who showed
me that you could be a mother, a wife, a
scientist all at the same time and be excellent at all three. More than any other
event, Marlon's death brought home to me just
how fragile life is and how important it is not
to waste our time on Earth. While the others
lay the foundation for understanding
medicine and science, Marlon's passing
emphasized to me that inherent in
a medical career is our individual calling
to a higher purpose. What you will do
every day will have a tremendous impact on the
lives of everyone in your care. Now I tell you about my years
at Harvard Medical School, both the big and little things,
some of the people who left their imprint because you cannot
even begin to fathom how this experience will affect your
career and your ability to care for your patients in the future. It's not just the great
education you have received. It is the integration of
that education with your life that will shape the lens by
which you will deliver care. And your life
experiences are being influenced by what is happening
in the world around you. Which brings me to the
first of the three areas I want to talk to
you about today-- where are we at
this point in time, followed by what we have
learned, and finally, why it matters as you embark on
your professional journeys. Because of COVID-19,
this pandemic, you are graduating at
an inflection point in the history of health care. When we look back,
we can only see a handful of Harvard
Medical School graduates who had the same experience. For example, the
graduating Class of 1921 started their careers shortly
after the Spanish flu pandemic. They entered a
period of time that was marked by a wave of
public health initiatives around the world, including
the first centralized system for reporting disease
in the United States. The 1920s was also the heyday
of the progressive social movement, including the fight
for women to be able to vote, regulating monopolies, and
applying the scientific method to other disciplines,
like finance and business management, and even the family. Today, we are also living in
a time of social reckoning and political divide. When I came to
Harvard, the country was starting to turn to a
more conservative social and political viewpoint. The early '80s followed
almost two decades of a more progressive
social movement with initiatives that included
the Civil Rights Movement. And being transparent,
those initiatives help more African-Americans
attend Harvard Medical School. You see, I grew up
during this time. And it has shaped my life to not
only become a medical doctor, but to focus on
minority women's health and to increase the number of
African-American physicians in the country through the
work we do at Morehouse School of Medicine. Today, in the United States
and many other countries around the world, we appear
to be at a crossroads. Will we continue to adhere
to a more conservative tilt in our country and the world? Or will we move toward the trend
to a more progressive posture? The direction we
choose will have a resulted impact on
health care delivery and the state of health in
this country and the world. Will we expand access to quality
health care for all people, or reduce or eliminate
the Affordable Care Act? Will the majority of the
country again embrace science and
scientists, or decide to ignore the opinions
of public health experts? And will we finally recognize
that African-Americans and people of color and persons
in underserved communities continue to suffer from
health disparities that impact and disrupt their lives or will
we decide that the best health care will go only
to a select few? As the newest generation of
health care practitioners, you will have the
responsibility to help determine the path we take as
a country and as a society. Secondly, as you decide how
you will address these issues as a medical or
dental professional, you will have the benefit of
the lessons we have all learned because of this pandemic. Dr. King was so right when
he wrote in his letter in the Birmingham Jail. Many only quote the last
sentence or the full quote on mutuality, but what he
completely wrote in that jail was that all this
is simply to say that all life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable
network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly
affects all indirectly. As long as there is
poverty in the world, no man can be totally rich, even
if he has a billion dollars. Long as diseases are rampant
and millions of people cannot expect to live more
than 20 or 30 years, no man can be totally healthy,
even if he just got a clean bill of health from the
finest clinic in America. Strangely enough,
I can never be what I ought to be until you
are what you ought to be, and you can never be
what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. COVID-19 has taught us that
the health of each person not only affects the
health of every person, but literally can bring
the world to its knees. For the past year, the
pandemic has shut down life as we knew it. And if we didn't
appreciate it before, we cannot ignore the fact that
our individual survival is linked together in one humanity. No matter the color of your
skin, our background, our age, our sexual orientation, or other
differences, living our best, healthiest life is
incumbent on making sure we have access to quality,
affordable health care. Health equity is not just
a nice thing to have. It is absolutely
necessary that we provide people with what
they need, when they need it, and the amount
they need to reach their optimal level of health. Because every health
inequity reduces the quality of life for everyone else. The pandemic has
shined a spotlight on the historic health
disparities and the lack of health equity faced
by minority communities, inequities that were built on
the historic racial injustice and systemic racism
that has long been present in our country. So while we battled
COVID-19, we also experienced a wave of
social activism following the tragic killing of
George Floyd last year. Unfortunately, racial
and social tensions are only intensified
as we witness continued attacks on Asian-Americans,
increase in aggression toward undocumented immigrants,
and growing violence against persons in
the trans community, and the unconscionable killing
of Black men by law enforcement and by each other. This is the world in which
you are starting your work. So thoroughly, the question
is, why does it matter to you? I hope your answer is
that as a practitioner, and more importantly, a
Harvard Medical School educated practitioner or a Harvard Dental
School educated practitioner, you have been taught to
seek a higher calling. You not only want
the patients you care for to be healthy
and live good lives, you want all people
around the world to receive quality health care. And you believe your
job is not to just treat patients and provide
care, but to improve the health and well-being of individuals,
families, and communities. From this date onward, based on
who is sitting in front of you, I want you to ask
yourself not what I can do to help
this person, or even what I should do to
help this person, I want you to ask yourself
based on who's sitting in front of me what's possible. And when you ask that question,
consider the whole person. If you want them to
walk more, do they live in a safe neighborhood
where that's possible? If you are referring them
to a specific orthodontist, do they have reliable
transportation to make it to that appointment? Can they even afford
that referral? If you have access to
that little known NIH investigational drug
therapy for the rare disease that your patient
sitting in front of you has been diagnosed
to have, do you see this person in
their fullest potential and offer them the
opportunity to participate in the clinical trial? As you practice medicine
and provide dental care or seek the answers to our
most profound questions through research,
seek opportunities to serve those who don't
have your background and have a different
perspective on life. Try to understand
why someone may say mash the elevator
button and another person may say press the
elevator button. No matter your race,
age, gender, identity, or background, expand
your perspective to understand the
background of others, that person sitting in front of
you and how knowing about them might not only affect their
current state of health, but their whole
approach to health. This is what we mean by
culturally competent care. We the providers are the
ones who must constantly strive to be more competent. We can do all of this by
simply taking the time to dive a bit deeper into
the reasons behind a patient or patients group
proclivity for and disease. I also urge you not to
practice medicine and avoid, but to engage in the
whole world around you and bring that interaction
into your work every day. It is easy to get lost in
the science of medicine. But you have a responsibility
to bring your voices to the discussion around
the broader ills that impact society-- racism, violence, discord. Your voice and presence matters. You are graduates of Harvard
Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine,
and I can assure you that your degree and the
network you have through Harvard will open a lot of doors for
you and afford you opportunities to advance your career. I also know how hard you have
worked to reach this moment. I experienced it and I watched
my daughter Jane, a 2020 HMS graduate, experience it also. And we, like you, had our
ceremony in our living room with just a close knit
of friends and family. I can guarantee
you the long hours and sacrifices were
necessary, but I ask you to not see this
day as just an achievement. I really want you to see
it today as a blessing that you are going to
share with those you will be privileged to care for. And if you do this,
then your life's work will be wrapped in love. And as the famous
African-American Daniel Hale Williams said,
anything is possible when it's done in love,
and everything you can do should be done in
love or it will fail." Thank you for allowing me
to spend some time with you on this momentous
day in your lives. The best to you each of you. Go forward and do good. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Montgomery Rice. It is my honor to introduce
you to the Dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine,
Dr. William Giannobile. Congratulations, graduates. As we join you, your
families, faculty, and friends here today, I want to
say how immensely proud we all are of you. You've exhibited
true determination and professionalism during
such a challenging year. Your hard work over
these past four years and your strong
dedication and experience on the front lines
of the pandemic has shaped you into
the amazing health care providers you have
become and set you on a course for a
bright future ahead. When I started my role as Dean
of Harvard School of Medicine in September of
last year, I was so eager to meet the 34
pre-doctoral students in the Class of 2021. I was also apprehensive. How would our students
on campus recognize me behind a surgical mask? And how would I get
to know them by sight? In dentistry, we
know how important a smile is in making
a first impression. It turns out our students
were not shy to approach me, and I've gotten pretty
good at recognizing faces from the bridge of the nose up. And we have all mastered
the art of smizing, or smiling with our eyes. Masks have become an important
part of our existence these days, and it's only
now in an outdoor setting, physically distanced,
and fully vaccinated that I appear unmasked
to share today's remarks. Masks became not only
necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but
symbolic of our commitment to public health. As health care providers, you've
worn them for the public good, to support and safely
treat your patients in the delivery of care and
with the purpose of working to end this virus,
eliminate pain, suffering, and promote oral and
total body health. I've witnessed our students
treat patients with kindness, caring, and dignity. And I admire this
class for your tenacity and your true desire to
help others without worrying about your own recognition. During your tenure
at HSDM, you've demonstrated your commitment
to advancing health equity and diversity in dentistry. Almost a third of the
individuals in the class have served as diversity
and inclusion Fellows and have been active in pipeline
programs, such as the Bridge to Dental School. Others have promoted
health literacy and served in outreach
roles to increase access to oral health care in
communities most in need. You've also shown a
commitment to our environment and inspired sustainability
practices at HSDM by reducing waste in
our clinical settings, organizing the Countway
Community Garden, and advancing goals for
a more sustainable future for our patients
and our profession. And when the pandemic
hit, you took action. You got involved in efforts
to mobilize resources. You researched new
learning models and contributed to
biomedical research on the delivery of
remote dental education. As author of Grit,
Angela Duckworth once said, "As much as talent
counts, effort counts twice." You are a tremendously
talented class. However, I'm even more
amazed by how much you have overcome to get to this day. This year you faced
so many hurdles with grace and
determination and you've become skilled clinicians
and compassionate caregivers. The grit you have demonstrated
over these four years has prepared you well for a
critical time in our nation's health care system, a system
I am confident you will contribute to and innovate. I'm delighted to recognize
our 34 individuals receiving their Doctor of
Dental Medicine degree today. Many of you in the class will
go on to specialty residencies across the country. Others will pursue
entrepreneurial plans, private practice, or work
in service to our government in roles in the VA or military. Wherever you go, I know that
your talents will take you far. You will join a
distinguished group of alumni who are making a difference
through leadership roles in global health,
research, academia, health care, government, and business. I know you will represent
your school well in everything you choose to do. On behalf of our
entire HSDM community, we all wish you the
very best and hope that you continue to
stay in touch with us as you become alumni
of the school. We will all be watching proudly
and smizing all the way. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Aisha Kaylee Ba. Dr. Preston Allen
Mercurius Banoub. Dr. Leela Sivie Breitman. Dr. Emily Wei-Ling Chen. Dr. Yu Owen Cheng. Dr. Hye Soo Chung. Dr. Paul Youngwook Chung. Dr. Alexander M. Cruz Walma. Dr. Nicholas Paul DeMeo. Dr. Alisha Desai. Dr. Quang H. Do. Dr. Idrys Durrani. Dr. Kasey Disney Ha. Dr. Jacqueline Rochelle Harris. Dr. Tiantian Karen He. Dr. Edward Joseph Hilton IV. Also receiving a master's
of business administration-- Dr. Ashiana Jivraj. Dr. David Leder Kornmehl. Dr. Jennifer Erin Lee. Dr. Chun-Chia Lin. Dr. Jiachen Lin. Dr. Nikhil Mistry. Dr. Andrew Paige. Dr. Ashwini Parchure. Dr. Dalton M. Pham. Dr. Daniel Mark Roistacher. Dr. Shaan Sehgal. Dr. Aida Shadrav. Dr. Daniel Wei-Chung Shen. Dr. Carlos Alberto Thomas. Dr. Ryan Anthony Williams. Dr. Emily Wu. Dr. Ornela Xhori. Dr. Hirad Zafari. It is now my honor to introduce
the Dean of Harvard Medical School, Dr. George Daley. After earning his
bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard in 1982,
he earned his PhD in biology at MIT. He received his MD
from HMS, graduating in 1991, the rare distinction
of summa cum laude, an honor HMS has awarded only 18
times in the school's history. He then pursued a clinical
training at Mass General and was a clinical fellow at
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Children's. After an active
clinical practice in hematology and oncology
at Mass General in Boston Children's, he assumed
his administrative role as the Director for
the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Dana
Farber and Boston Children's, a post he held until assuming
his current position as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Dean Daley has served as a
member of the HMS faculty since 1995. In 2010, he became a
full professor at HMS. Dean Daley's research focuses
on the mechanisms that underlie blood disorders and cancer. In past research, he
demonstrated the central role of BCR-ABL oncoprotein in human
chronic myelogenous leukemia, work that provided
the critical target validation for the
development of Gleevec, a highly effective
therapy for cancer. Again, it is my
distinct privilege to welcome Dean Daley. Harvard Medical School
and Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Class of 2021, it's my pleasure to
celebrate with you and your families
and loved ones today, and my privilege
to congratulate you on becoming Harvard's
newest doctors and dentists. Like all of you, I wish we were
celebrating together in person. I wish we could be
gathered under the tent in the majestic Harvard
Medical School quadrangle with friends, family,
and colleagues. With the successful
rollout of vaccinations, I think we can all see a
future when we will indeed gather again together. But in the meantime, I hope
that you, our graduates, are safe and surrounded by
your family and friends, enjoying a private celebration. Today marks the
culmination of your years of hard work, your sacrifices,
and your profound commitment to the calling of medicine. Today is the end of your
many years as a student and the beginning
of your many years as a doctor dedicated to
serving and caring for others. In truth, however, all of us
in this noble profession-- you, your teachers, your attending
physicians, your deans-- all of us who have chosen
medicine as our lives calling will forever be students. Medicine is constantly evolving
and always unpredictable. Whatever your chosen
specialty or discipline, every day will bring new
questions, new unknowns, and new events that will
challenge your knowledge and confidence. Over the past year, this truth
has never been more apparent. Class of 2021, you
have witnessed an epic defining public health crisis. Decades from now, you'll
think back on this past year and reflect on
those experiences. I hope those reflections
include a recognition of how what we have learned
in this past year have placed all of you on a
path to make the world a safer and more just place. COVID-19 has changed the world. But today, you stand as
the newest foot soldiers in a war that is much
more than a battle against a single virus. Over the past year,
you have witnessed how the inadequacies and deep
frailties of our health care system have been laid bare. If there was ever a notion
that we as doctors serve best when we diagnose
and treat disease, we can safely put that
quaint notion to rest. To truly care for our
patients, we must be activists, we must be advocates, we
must be agents for change, Whether by encouraging adherence
to public health measures, combating vaccine
hesitancy, or fighting to repair a health care system
riddled with deep disparities for people of color, a system
that tolerates inequities, leaving millions unprotected
or poorly protected from what should be every individual's
fundamental right to health care. Medicine has always been
a demanding profession, and today it is as challenging
a profession as perhaps it has ever been. But when I look at you, the
Class of 2021, I am inspired and I am truly optimistic
for our future. Over the past year, I've
witnessed heroism in medicine, from physicians working
tirelessly on the front lines, sometimes outside their
areas of specialty, recalling skills from their
earliest days of training, to nurses serving as
intensely direct caregivers at personal risk and serving
as proxies for family members who weren't allowed
to enter an ICU, from the support
staff maintaining our medical facilities
to the scientists uniting to elevate the priorities
of the pandemic over their individual goals. You, Class of 2021, you
were right there with them. You helped found a
nationwide movement to aid frontline
health care workers. You formed rapid response
teams to support and inform at-risk populations. You mobilized voters,
promoted civic engagement, you developed new approaches
to COVID-19 screening for the most vulnerable, and you
created a COVID-19 curriculum that has been adopted
at medical schools and by health care professionals
in more than 100 countries on six continents. All the while, you
excelled at your studies, you published research
breakthroughs, you invented new
technologies, and you fought for social
justice, including for your DACA
classmates, some of whom are graduating with you today. Above all, you never wavered. You wanted to be in the fray. Confronted by this
once-a-century pandemic that altered every aspect of your
education and personal lives, you demonstrated strength,
empathy, resilience, and perseverance. You showed your
profound compassion for your patients,
your classmates, and your fellow human beings. You never let go of that thirst
for knowledge and the desire to effect change that brought
you to Harvard Medical School in the first place. As doctors, we will never
possess all the knowledge and expertise we need. But what ultimately
allows us to succeed, what allows our profession to
carry the well justified honor, respect, and trust
of the communities we care for are the
very traits you have so clearly demonstrated. If you care for your patients
with compassion, sensitivity, and respect, if you embrace
the truth that you are forever a student with an open
mind, limitless curiosity, and relentless desire
to use your skills and knowledge to
alleviate suffering, to improve people's lives,
and to make the world better, you will be great doctors,
no matter the circumstance, no matter the events
that transpire. I want to thank you for
all that you have done and will do in service
to Harvard Medical School and to the world. I am honored to now
call you my colleagues. On behalf of your
teachers, mentors, and the alumni community
that you now join, I want to say again
congratulations. We can't wait to see
what you accomplish next. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Aditya Achanta. Dr. Michael Alcala. Dr. Varnel Lordan Antoine. Dr. Charles Higgins Brower. Dr. Patricia Corona. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Nicholas Regis DeStefino. Dr. Ahmed Dia Eldin Elnaiem. Dr. Andrew Robert Emery. Dr. Bryn Elizabeth Falahee. Also receiving a master's
in medical science-- Dr. Michael Aaron Fuchs. Dr. Daniel Gonzalez. Dr. Ashwini Joshi. Dr. Revanth Sai Kosaraju. Dr. Jonathan James Kusner. Dr. Cara Lyn Lachtrupp. Dr. Jessica Nicole Laird-Gion. Dr. Chloe Yang Ling Li. Dr. Juan Luis Macias. Dr. Chase Christian Marso. Dr. Bridget Elizabeth Matsas. Dr. Conner McMullen Narovec. Also receiving a master's
in business administration-- Dr. Vartan Pahalyants. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Sachin Hitesh Patel. Dr. Natalie Amelia
Beatrix Posever. Dr. Angel Mauricio Reyes. Dr. Hannah Olivia Scott. Dr. Morgan Sehdev. Dr. Mariame Sylla. Dr. Regina Parker Tamposi. Dr. Anthony Tucker-Bartley. Also receiving a master's
in business administration-- Dr. Nathan Hamilton Varady. Dr. Kruti Bhagirath Vora. Dr. Chloe Billie Warinner. Also receiving a master's
in business administration-- Dr. Chen Wei. Also receiving a master's
in public health-- Dr. Rachel Elisa Weitzman. Dr. Tiantian White. Dr. Sohail Zahid. Dr. Allen Si-Liang Zhou. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Rachel Chapman Acker. Dr. Huma Saeed Baig. Dr. Taylor Erin Brown. Dr. Corbin Daniel Ester. Dr. Samantha Meena Guhan. Dr. Ryoko Hamaguchi. Also graduating with a
master's of public policy-- Dr. Garret Michael Johnson. Dr. Kathleen Josephine Koenigs. Dr. Ruby B. Kwak. Dr. Benjamin Edmund Landwersiek. Dr. Nelson C. Malone. Dr. Katherine Grace McDaniel. Dr. Kelly Heavner McFarlane. Dr. Devon Emily McMahon. Dr. Geetika Mehra. Dr. Damma Moustafa. Dr. Ruchit Bhupesh Nagar. Dr. Mahan Nekoui. Dr. Alma Jessica Oñate Muñoz. Dr. Andrew William Parsons. Dr. Francisco Louis Ramos. Dr. Anabel Starosta. Dr. Matthew J. Townsend. Dr. Natalie Elizabeth Williams. Dr. Linda Xu. Dr. Da Hye Yang. Also graduating with a master's
of business administration-- Dr. Mark M. Zaki. Also graduating with a master's
of business administration-- Dr. Mike Zhenyu Zhai. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Titilayo Arinola Afolabi. Dr. Jacob Paul
Arellano-Anderson. Dr. Amy Elana Blum. Dr. Thomas Wolcott Church. Also receiving a
doctorate of philosophy-- Dr. David James Cote. Dr. Iyas Asaad Daghlas. Also receiving a
doctorate of philosophy-- Dr. Richard Yon Ebright. Dr. Anna Potter Fang. Dr. Jakub Glowala. Also receiving a master's
of business administration-- Dr. Samantha Taylor Harris. Also receiving a masters
of public health-- Dr. Gabriella Roxanne Herrera. Dr. Julia Marie Hiserodt. Dr. Zachary Philip Johannesson. Also receiving a
doctorate of philosophy-- Dr. Sun Jin Lee. Dr. Timothy Michael McGinnis. Dr. Brenna Rae Nelsen. Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Onorato. Dr. Jordan Michael Petersen. Dr. Ali Syed Raza. Dr. Nikolai Edward Renado. Dr. Larisa Shagabayeva. Dr. Maria Cecily Thomas. Dr. Leah Louisa Thompson. Dr. Manuela von Sneidern. Also receiving a master's
of public policy-- Dr. Isabelle Channette Wijangco. Also receiving a master's
of public health-- Dr. Lucas T. Whittman. Dr. Anna Ho Zhao. Dr. Joyce Cheeler Zhou. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. Uday Agrawal. Dr. Baturay Aydemir. Dr. Eric Lane Bao. Dr. Elizabeth Hockfield Byrne. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Ann Morgan Cathcart. Dr. John Joseph Ceremsak. Dr. Katherine Redfield Chan. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Jacob Alexander Donoghue. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Senan Ebrahim. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Jennifer Yawei Ge. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. David Benjamin Gootenberg. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Sharon Rachel Grossman. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. James Martin Harris. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Thomas Patrick Howard III. Dr. Anthony Injoon Jang. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Mark Kalinich. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Aditya Sreemadhav Kalluri. Dr. Nicholas Wing-Ping Kwok. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Yuzhong Meng. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. David N. Reshef. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Abigail Esther Schiff. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Eriene-Heidi Sidhom. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Mack Y. Su. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Suan Lian Tuang. Also receiving a
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Adrian Veres. Dr. Constance Wu. Dr. Xiaoling Yu. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dr. James Paul Agolia. Dr. Stephanie Leigh Alden. Also receiving the master
of business administration-- Dr. Troy B. Amen. Dr. Sepideh Ashrafzadeh. Dr. Emily Grandier Bloch. Dr. Jonathan Avram Boiarsky. Dr. Kaitlyn Alana Brettin. Dr. Tram Ngoc Bui. Dr. Denston Emanuel Carey, Jr. Dr. Enchi Kristina Chang. Dr. Alexis Marie Coolidge. Dr. Edward Christopher Dee. Also receiving the master
of business administration-- Dr. Kirby Leigh Erlandson. Dr. Jonathan Ralph Franco. Dr. Lisa Ning Guo. Dr. Melody Huang. Dr. Jane Margaret Irwin. Dr. Yisi Daisy Ji. Dr. Katherine Patrice Kester. Dr. Carlton Lawrence. Also receiving the
master of public health-- Dr. Michelle Lee. Also receiving the
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Chen Lossos. Also receiving the
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Ethan Balgley Manelin. Also receiving the master
of business administration-- Dr. William Stephen Murphy. Dr. Sarah M. Nisivaco. Also receiving the
doctor of philosophy-- Dr. Jamaji Chilaka
Nwanaji-Enwerem. Dr. Hema Venkat Pingali. Dr. Erin Jean Plews-Ogan. Also receiving the
master of public health-- Dr. Asmaa Zein El-Abdin Rimawi. Dr. Michael William Seward. Dr. Helen Hao Shang. Dr. Abhr He-Ting Shen. Dr. Haziq Faisal Siddiqi. Dr. Sonia Yvonne Ye. Dr. Zizi Yu. Dr. Amy Zheng. Dr. Evan Tongji Zheng. On behalf of the graduating
Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental
Medicine Class of 2021, we now have the
pleasure of introducing our incredible faculty,
resident, and staff award recipients. Our first award is the
Leonard Tow Humanism Award from the Arnold
P. Gold Foundation. This award is presented
annually to a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding
compassion in the delivery of care, respect for patients,
their families, and health care colleagues, as well as
demonstrates clinical excellence. We're pleased to announce this
year's winner, Dr. Sam Tanyos. Our next award is the Excellence
in Classroom Instruction Award, which recognize four
incredible faculty. We present this
award today to Drs. Jen Kasper, Dana
Stearns, Michael Dougan, and Stephanie Dougan. Thank you for contributing
to a wonderful HMS student educational experience. We now turn to our next
award, the Excellence in Clinical Instruction Award. We're thrilled to recognize
three tremendous clinician educators, Drs. Kevin Raskin, Kate
Treadway, and Jonathan Wing. Our final Harvard Medical
School Faculty Award is the Outstanding
Faculty Mentor Award. We are overjoyed to recognize
three incredible faculty members, Dr. Bernard Chang, Dr.
Meredith Atkins, and Dr. Andrea Schwartz. We've also had some
wonderful advisors mentor us as we navigated a difficult and
virtual residency application season. This year we'd like to
recognize three faculty for the Excellence in Residency
Advising Award, Dr. Bernard Chang, Dr. Anthony D'Amico,
and Dr. Laura Avery. In addition to working
with tremendous faculty, we've also had the
great joy to work alongside outstanding
resident physicians. For this year's Excellence in
Clinical Instruction Residence Award, we are
thrilled to recognize four incredible resident
physicians, Dr. Wilfredo Matias, Dr. Hawra Al Lawati, Dr.
Donna Alvino, and Dr. Sabrina Karim. Lastly, Harvard Medical School
wouldn't be the special place that it is without
its incredible staff. This year for the Staff
Student Life Award, we would like to recognize the
incredible and dedicated Mr. Michael Tramonte. We now turn to awards given
by the graduating Harvard School of Dental
Medicine Class of 2021. Our first award is for
Outstanding Teaching Faculty. We are pleased to recognize
two wonderful faculty members, Dr. Shigemi
Nagai and Dr. Luis Lopez. We also recognize Dr. Chiho
Ahn, this year's winner of our Outstanding
Resident Teaching Award. Finally, we recognize Mr.
Charles Mwele as the recipient of our Outstanding Staff Award. Given the difficulties
that presented this year due to the pandemic,
these members of our community went above and beyond to
ensure the exceptional quality of our education. We are thrilled to announce
these faculty, resident, and staff awards. We will now have members of our
class recite our class oath. We first recited this oath
at our White Coat Ceremony four years ago at the start
of our professional education. We now reaffirm this oath before
launching into our careers in dentistry and
medicine, committing to excellence for our
patients and our profession. Today, we pledge to
all those here today with recognition of the
education and experience gained on the ancestral land of
the Massachusetts people-- That, according to my
ability and judgment, we'll keep this oath. We pledge to our patients to do
no harm, uphold your autonomy, protect your privacy,
and be your partner in the journey towards healing. We will approach each person
holistically and humbly, offering a listening
ear and a hungry mind. We recognize our patients'
lived experiences, strengths, and resiliences so that
their wellness can be rooted in empowerment. We are prepared to confront and
explore disease with both ardor and empathy so that
our patients can move through illness with dignity. We pledge to our
families to remember the sacrifice made and worked on
by so many before and beside us so that we can take
this title Doctor. We will continue to
challenge ourselves, grow, and excel for the service
and care of others. We honor the lives
lived and legacies left by those who
were hurt by medicine and aspire to transform
care so that it can meet the needs of
our country's people. We'll uplift our communities-- Magnify their voices-- And advocate for health
equity and justice. We pledge to each other,
our peers, our teachers, and mentors to remain
curious, embrace our mistakes, and commit to a
life of learning. We realize that
medicine is an art that we must carry out
with patience, reflection, attention, and collaboration. We commit to this practice
alongside our interprofessional colleagues and friends
so that we can ensure patient-centered progress. We will turn to scientific
evidence, discovery, and innovation in our
decisions and treatment plans. And we welcome the
call to leadership where our decisions and
policies have the opportunity to alleviate suffering. We pledge to ourselves to
remain true and reflect on what inspired us to pursue medicine. We will remember the
experiences, the stories, and the love that shaped this
calling in our most difficult moments, and we will take care
of ourselves and one another, striving to find joy
and purpose every day. From this day forward-- From this day forward-- From this day forward-- I freely and fearlessly
take this oath and accept the responsibilities
of a physician. May I uphold the honor of
this profession and care for any person in need. To our illustrious
graduates, congratulations. We look forward to your future
and your exciting careers in the service of others. Good day. [MUSIC - "POMP AND
CIRCUMSTANCE"]
