2014 Commencement Ceremony

Congratulations to the class of 2010!! There are more than 150 graduates this year. This picture shows the new graduates who attended the second session.This year’s graduation ceremony is finally here and I’ve waited a long time for this. This is the time when we all celebrate the culmination of the last four years and the beginning of our career in medicine. We recite the Hippocratic Oath (or at least the modern version that does not reference Apollo), and profess ourselves to do no harm. I am so happy for all of my friends and colleagues at AUC who have made it. This week, many I know have returned to the island where we started, to reunite with the friends we’ve shared this journey with and to don the cap and gown together, and seeing their pictures on Facebook has made me think a lot about my island home and my time there.

Unfortunately I will not be making it to my own graduation ceremony, and I’m not gonna lie… a big part of me really want to go back, see old friends again, meet new ones, wander through campus, and see if things feel differently on the island now that I’d be returning without books. As much as I would have loved to go, I could not imagine celebrating without the two people that mean the most to me – my wife Irene and our new baby Lyra, my biggest supporters. It’s not the best time to travel for either one of them right now as Irene is still recovering and Lyra is only a month old. They are the two people who need me most right now at home and because of this, I will be celebrating here back in Georgia with them, my new family.

Despite not seeing friends this time around at graduation, there will always be opportunities in the future, if we put some effort in making that happen. Later this month, my friend Patrick is going to be stopping by Georgia on his way up north to start his residency. We’ve known each other since college and I was thrilled to have gone to AUC with him and am so happy we both matched. At the end of this month, Arif and Chris are also going to be driving down to the deep south to come visit us for a few days and meet Lyra. These guys are the best and I am pretty excited.

I know we will all have much different lives in the coming years, with different social circles and major life events, and we will change as individuals, diverging from what we have known of each other in our shared med school past. As the years go on, it is my hope that we still keep up with communication and not stop generating new conversations and shared memories, the stuff that bonds us together.

Alright, enough filler content. Here’s the live streaming video of the 2014 commencement ceremony for all those who want to see! The ceremony will take place this Saturday, May 17, 2014, at 8:30am and 1:30pm Eastern Time (there are two ceremonies).

Enjoy and congratulations everyone!

If you can’t see the above video, please go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/auc-2014-commencement-ceremony.

**UPDATE 5/17/2014**

I feel honored to have been one of the four recipients of the 2014 Award for Excellence in Community and University Services. With the drive for community service within the school and individuals dedicated to make a difference, there are lots more graduates from the AUC community who deserve this recognition. Although I was not able to make it to the island, I am touched that the school still included me in this special part of the ceremony. Thank you!