Celebration of Graduation Held in Honor of the Class of 2023

The Class of 2023 celebrated their achievements at the Celebration of Graduation at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Thirty-seven students, along with their friends and family, gathered for this momentous occasion.

The ceremony began with a processional led by Campus Dean Dr. Michelle Nuss along with the Medical Partnership faculty. Nuss opened the ceremony with remarks to the graduates.

“Wherever your residency training takes you, wear your new longer white coats with pride and privilege, but of much greater importance, with humility,” Nuss told the graduates. “Listen carefully and compassionately to the patients you will care for. And remember that what makes you a physician and a future caretaker for patients, is not the white coat. It’s the qualities you already possess – your compassion, your discipline, your altruism, your intelligence – the things that make you, uniquely you.”

Dr. Matt Crim, an assistant professor of medicine at the Partnership, provided the keynote address at the ceremony.

The Class of 2023 was then presented by Dr. DeLoris Hesse, associate professor of anatomy and embryology, and Lynn Ramsey, assistant director of academic success programs.

Crim, Hesse, and Ramsey were all chosen for their roles by the Class of 2023.

Associate dean for medical education and interim campus associate dean for student affairs, Dr. Scott Richardson, presented two awards during the ceremony—the Amarachi Anukam Community Service Award was presented to Dr. Zac Adams, and Dr. Clive Slaughter received the Educator of the Year Award. Dr. Ellen House was also named Educator of the Year and could not be in attendance.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the class gift from Adams and Dr. Kyle Ulversoy and the Hippocratic Oath led by the 2023 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine awardee, Dr. Lia Bruner.

Following graduation, the Medical College of Georgia students attending the Medical Partnership campus will be going to 16 different states in 14 different specialties, with 54 percent staying in the southeastern United States and 54 percent joining primary care programs.