WORCESTER —There was nothing but expressions of high hope and well wishes for the new crop of doctors, nurses and biomedical scientists making up of the largest graduating class in UMass Chan Medical School’s history.
Three-hundred and twenty representing the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and T.H. Chan School of Medicine received their degrees Sunday during the 51st commencement ceremony at the school’s main campus at 55 Lake Ave. N.
Led by marshals carrying purple banners representing the three school under the UMass Chan Medical School banner, a procession of black flowing robes and bright-eyed faces walked proudly on the tent-covered field of freshly cut grass to their seats.
As these new doctors, nurses and biomedical scientists took their accomplishments in with their respective families and school’s faculty looking on, the speakers reminded the newly anointed graduates that not only are they the future of health care and scientific studies but they are our best hope for a better tomorrow.
After receiving the Chancellor’s Medal, Gov. Maura T. Healey began her remarks by praising the nursing profession and continued by thanking each and everyone of the graduates in their chosen fields who are going to achieve “really, really important things” in the future.
“My mom’s a nurse. My grandmother’s a nurse. My aunt…Sad story is I was afraid of blood at an early age. I got over that but it wasn’t going to be the path for me, though I regret that,” Healey said. “So if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have gone into a profession that you are about, taking care of people, looking after people, challenging yourself to identify the solutions that are going to make people’s lives better.”
During her commencement address, Healey thanked the graduating class for the commitment and sacrifices they have made in achieving their chosen profession.
“Congratulations to the new physicians. Congratulations to our new scientists and researchers. Congratulations to all our newly minted nurse leaders,” Healey said. “Congratulations to all of you. Thank you to all of you. You answered a noble calling. You made a commitment to heal, to care, to relieve suffering and improve the lives of people and communities around you.”
Knowing how to win over the home crowd, Healey also praised the school in a way that would make Big Papi envious, while urging them to stay in Massachusetts.
“UMass Chan is not like any other medical school. This place is really special. This is Massachusetts’ own med school — based here in the heart of the state, with clinical and teaching affiliates from Western Massachusetts all the way up to Cape Cod,” Healey stressed. “See, you know, it’s the way it should be. And, by the way, that’s not to say that I don’t welcome and embrace all of you who have come outside of Massachusetts. That’s awesome. I just want you to stay in Massachusetts.”
In a world of stress and uncertainly, Michael F. Collins, chancellor, UMass Chan Medical School, said seeing the graduates and knowing the accomplishments they have achieved and will achieve in the future fills him with an overwhelming feeling of hope.
“This is a hope-filled moment. At many important moments in life, we’re embraced by hope. Today, for each of us, this is such a moment,” Collins said. “Standing before our graduates at a ceremony that which we will recognize and celebrate their many accomplishments, how could anyone be filled with anything but hope?”
Explaining that humanity comes hand in hand with hope, Collins celebrated the relationship and bond the graduates will make with their future patients in the best of health and in their last hours.
“These graduates have come to hold the hands of their patients with esteem. So too, these graduates have come to know that there may be a day when all therapeutic options with their patients have exhausted. In those moments, they will know that the greatest gift that they can give their patient is to sit beside their bed and hold their hands,” Collins said. “With such hope, please know that now and forever, your UMass Chan matters. We’ll take great pride in calling you one of our own. It is with great hope and the goodness of each of you that we wish you God’s speed along your personal and professional journeys. Congratulations.”
During the ceremony, Ann E. Kurth and Fredrick B. Sontag both received honorary degrees.
Jennifer M. Costa, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing; Julie Hugunin, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and Jesse R. Sardell, T.H. Chan School of Medicine, delivered the class address for their respective schools.
Jennifer H. Sohn, T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Class of 2024, sang the national anthem.
The following is a breakdown of degrees: 167 doctor of medicine degrees, eight MD/doctorate degrees, 29 doctor of philosophy degrees and five master of science in clinical investigation degrees, 56 doctor of nursing practice degrees, five master of science in nursing and inter-professional leadership, three doctorate in nursing degrees and three postgraduate certificates.
List of graduates:
Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing
Post graduate certificate:
Florence Mumbi Gichuhi
Marlyn M. Jules-Clerger
Ryan K. Sullivan
Master of science, nursing and inter-professional leadership:
Melissa Faye Brown
Danielle Marie Garrity *
Jill Macken Marshall
Christopher Peter Navis
Sharon Anne Rudinski
Doctor of nursing practice:
Noah Ellis Barkley
Jazzlynn Marleena Bennett
Peter Michael Bettencourt
Harris Gregory R. Brotske *
Karla Anne Burns
Allison C. Carlson
Lediana Cerri
Dianna C. Chamberlain *
Christina ChaiChang Connolly
Rachel J. Copertino *
Maria Davila Cosimini
Julie Vivika Darcy
Marisa Elizabeth DaSilva
Oscar Javier De La Rosa
Shayna Christine Diedrich
Emily Helen Dillon
Isabella DiMare
Gianna Brielle DiPinto
Chikodiri Ebe
Samantha Elizabeth Ellis
Casandra Antoinette Gale
Kay-Ann T. Gunning
Morgan A. Hill *
Courtney Marie Hunt
Johnny L. Isenberger
Maria Cristina Karamourtopoulos
Paul James Lavallee *
Rebecca Shea Litwin Snydeman
Christy Marie Mangiacotti
Kourtney Elizabeth Mantyla-Murphy *
Mary Theresa Mathieu *
Nicole Marie Mattson
Grace Katherine Milone
Reham Mousa
Rachel Gitahi Murumba *
Nisha Naik
Shirah Rivka Neumann
Joshan Niroula
Rachel Akoth Odillia
Angela Mary Patterson
Patricia Margaret Quill
Maggie Quinn
Indy Anette Robles
David W. Runyan b
Francis Carlo Tee Sabas
Reginald Opoku Sarpong
Gillian Sarah Serino Bossio
Kamaldeep K. Sidhu
Kathryn R. Small
Jennifer Catherine Stewart
Amanda Lee Sylvia
Kayla Marie Thomas
Eugenia L. Trammell-Goldsby
Jacqueline Ann Vittum
Jacob Barrett Waldman
Paula Jeanne Walsh
Doctor of Philosophy:
Jennifer Marie Costa *
Kimberly Dawn Mantlow
Danielle Marie Urella
* Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society
b MassAHEC Rural Health Scholars Pathway
Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Master of science:
Heather Learnard
Christofer Mathias Welsh
Master of science in clinical investigation:
Mariam Chekmeyan
Jacqueline Ellen Furbacher
Lara Kovell, MD
Laurel Caren O’Connor
Doctor of philosophy:
Gregory Russell Andrews
Nathan Bamidele
Gaurav Chauhan Mentor
Qiaoxi Chen
Zexiang Chen
Michelle Marie Conti
Peren Coskun
Siyuan Dai
Sarah Marie Davis
Mihir Bhavik Doshi
Melissa Goulding
Sunil Guharajan
Mohona Gupta
Dilara Ozge Halim
Megan Honeywell
Havisha Harish Honwad
Eleni E Jaecklein
Tatenda Kadungure
Marina Krykbaeva
Pyae Phyo Kyawe
Jacob Landeck
Chrono K Lee
Xue Li
Kotchaphorn Mangkalaphiban
Rachael Alexandria Miller
Kyounghee Min
Zeynep Mirza
Dimpi Mukhopadhyay
Shivani Nanda
Naema Nayyar
Kashfia Neherin
Seun Emmanuel Osundolire
Karthikeyan Ponnienselvan
Brittany Elise Rosener
Serkan Sayin
Sneha Suresh
Feng Wang
Anna Ingrid Wortman
Qin Yang
Han Zhang
T.H. Chan School of Medicine Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Doctor of medicine/doctor of philosophy:
Alysia R. Bryll
Philip Andrew Feinberg
Julie Hugunin Mentor
Katelyn J. McCann Mentors
Nicholas Danial Peterson
Henry Emmet Pratt
Tomás C. Rodríguez
Eric Romo
T.H. Chan School of Medicine
Doctor of medicine:
Brian A. Brisebois
Mariam Chekmeyan
Darya Mae Herscovici c
Christian John Keenan G
Ivy Mumbi Mwangi G
Mitin Nachu
Eric Romo + G
Stevie V. Yang a G
Madeline Rose Broccoli
Hanyan Michelle Chang c G
May Morrissette Dong
Michelle Elise Hillman * a
Rishi Makkar
D. Alexander Morrison *
Michael Joseph Rogalski *
UMass Chan-Baystate Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) Track:
Ashvin Antony G
Sarah Glen Danforth
Jordan Marie Dudley G
Sarah Kathryn Hansen
Kassandra Marcelle Jean-Marie G
McKenzie L. Jones G
Laura Frances Labb
Kaan Zeki Apaydin G
Vanessa Dana Avalone a G
Thuy Duong Doan
Julia Lisa Small G
Zachary Richard William Strecker
Juliana Maria Arenas Escobar
Kimberly P. Burke a
Gabrielle Carroll
Pooja Dutta a
Theo James Eldore G
Kamryn Elizabeth Jebb *
Rose Louise May *
Gidon Salamatbad
Omar George Taweh a
Benjamin Laliberte
Benjamin G. Potee * G
Gabryjela Izabela Walsh
Sara Hainuo Wang G
Shray Amin
Niharika Kareddy
Marie McGourty *
Henry Emmet Pratt +
Cooper Anthony Gray Scherr * G
Marko Stojčevski
Carl Thomas Adams
Emma Cailin Cammann c
Naaz Daneshvar *
Cameron Brayden Fattahi
Emilee Ann Herringshaw
Shayun Pedram
Charles Cooper Feinberg
Grant Patrick Garcia
Erin Lee Johnson b
Sabine Brooke Shaughnessy G
Constantine Souter Velmahos
Alexis Watson *
Sarah Elizabeth Becker
Golda Rose Grinberg *
Irena O. Kuzma * c
Katherine Elisabeth Salley *
Fiona Dvorak Splaine * c G
Robert D. Yuan
Aya Lela Abou-Jaoude G
Colin Joseph Burnett G
Joshua D. Cohen *
Jenna Cornwall Mulhearn
Ekaterina Skaritanov
Mina Zhang
Paige D. Comerford a
Madeleine Marie Hatch a
Lakhena LaFleur Leang
Stewart G. Maxfield
Benjamin Arthur Palleiko c
Emily Ann Sheehy
Kristina A. Brewer *
Elyssa Harris *
Julie Hugunin + a
Jeewoo Lim
Colin Mark Rivet * c
Emmanuel John Budis *
J. Harrison Carmichael
Sri Nuvvula
Jay Patel
Sayeda Najamussahar Peerzade c
Tomás C. Rodríguez +
Lauren Scarpetti *
Rachel Schneider
Matthew G. Guarino
Austin Nicholas Lachance
Jenna Laidley
Abigale Katlin Muise
Christian Polo Pineda
Victoria Allen Bothwick *
Thomas Mark Drews b
Camila Hernandez *
Alex Joo
Anna Nesgos
Mark Tawadrous
Dina Leah Blanter *
Tyler Munchmeyer Healy *
Annie Ma
Felipe Jezzini Roriz Pina
Elisa Souza Campous Rocha a
Addison Jon Ward
Samantha Anne Beck
Vincent La * G
Alexandra Dieu Tu Nguyen
Brian James Nickley a G
Antony Tatar b
Azraa Taybah Amroze
Philip Andrew Feinberg +
Henry Gleich
Noah Pierson Kelleher
Saurabh Kumar c
Alex Charles Richard *
Sarah Elizabeth Uhranowsky * b
Mina B. Botros G
Rohit Das
Rachel K. Jenkins
Uchechi Judith Nna
Lisa Marie Sangermano
Jesse Richard Sardell b
Alice J. Tan
Emma K. Dudley
Elizabeth French Gootkind
Morgan K. Groover
Tommy Donghyuk Kim
Lucyna D. Kogut Holliday b
Katelyn Josephine McCann + *
Christopher T. Zoppo *
Jacob Kenneth Andrew
Cara E. Genduso
Nathan Hawley
Olivia Haven Ladd-Luthringshauser G
Muhammet Ozdemir a
Naomi Dawn Stuffers
Alysia R. Bryll +
Hannah Crowley
Sean F. Doherty
Christopher John Fay *
Olivia Hanron
Evan Samuel Offord
Read Allen b G
Evan Bilsbury
Lauren April McKenna
Armin Palic
Nicholas Danial Peterson + *
Rebecca Joy Sullivan *
Sean Casey Teebagy
Nathan John Yee *
Vinaya Rajahraman
Sravya Bharathi Shankara
Jacob John Wood
Valerie Yuele Zhu
Daniel Yang
Jack Dufton
Jessica Eskander a
Rohini Loke
Evelyn Pearl sem*nov *
Jennifer Helen Sohn G
Nicholas Van Wittenberghe
Patricia Giunta
Sassicaia J. Schick
+ MD/PhD graduates
* Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society— recognition for academic achievement, leadership, research and community service
G Gold Humanism Honor Society—recognition by their peers as exemplars of humanism
a Global Health Pathway
b Rural Health Scholars Pathway
c Clinical and Translational Research Pathway
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: UMass Chan Medical School graduates largest class in its history
