Speakers tasked the School of Medicine & Health Sciences’ graduating Class of 2026 to use their experiences and purpose to better patients’ lives as they step into their new healthcare roles at the school’s graduation celebration in Lisner Auditorium Saturday.
Over 300 graduates walked the stage at Saturday’s commencement, including 248 health sciences graduates and four students who received awards for their demonstrated commitment to the future of medicine. SMHS officials, faculty and student speakers told graduates that their most impactful progress occurs when they have faith in themselves and use technology and evidence-based practices to improve healthcare systems for all.
Joseph Bocchino, an associate professor of clinical research and leadership who delivered the charge to graduates, reminded the students that while they may feel graduation marks the culmination of their “life’s work,” they should see the ceremony as the time to use their education and life experience to determine how they want to start their new lives as healthcare professionals. He said while the expansion of technologies, like AI in medicine, creates new career pathways for graduates and may feel overwhelming, they can stay focused by grounding themselves in a purpose.
“You have nature-driven and socially-developed gifts that can make the world a healthier place for all of us, and you must decide how you’re going to deploy those gifts,” Bocchino said.
Bocchino said students should take the commitment and perseverance they put into their time at the University and apply it to their post-graduate “purpose.”
“Carry these attributes of personal commitment, optimism, faith and tenacity as reminders that you’ll accomplish what you set your sights upon in this phase of your life that follows your graduation,” Bocchino said.
Andrew Artenstein, interim vice president for health affairs and dean of SMHS, told students as they prepare to treat patients and serve their communities in healthcare’s “rapidly evolving landscape,” they should have faith in their own abilities, given the difficult tasks they have already accomplished throughout their time at the University.
“You have proven that you possess the character and skill to meet the challenges of our era, and as you transition from students to professionals, you are entering a social covenant, a profound responsibility to those you serve, whether it be in the clinic, in the classroom, in the laboratory or in the hospital,” Artenstein said.
Lisa Paganotti, an assistant professor of health, human function and rehabilitation sciences, presented the outstanding graduate student award to Cory Sessum, a doctor of health science graduate, for his work creating the first artificial intelligence platforms to detect lung cancer and research about mitigating burnout among operating room nurses.
Sessum told future healthcare professionals to remember that their definitions of success and purpose should relate to serving patients’ needs, not their own. He said graduates should use evidence-based research to make informed decisions — something he has seen decline — when reforming healthcare systems that sometimes provide deficient treatments.
“We are all temporary travelers in the world, yet many of us spend our brief time fighting for things that do not truly matter — status, wealth, validation, while neglecting what truly does — empathy, equity and collective progress,” Sessum said.
Tracey Kasten Heil, the recipient of the outstanding undergraduate student award, said after her husband passed away from brain cancer, she began working at the oncology center he had been treated at and found her purpose in studying clinical research administration so she could support families of individuals and those diagnosed with cancer. She urged graduates to view their setbacks and challenges as experiences that equip them to better serve others.
“What once felt like loss, fear and uncertainty has become purpose and direction allowing me to support patients and families who find themselves in the same position I was once in,” Heil said.
