MPAS Student Speeches

• Connor Carrigan-Class of 2022 Commencement Address August 2022

  Welcome students, friends and family, faculty, and guests to the 2022 Emory & Henry Master of Physician Assistant Studies & Doctor of Physical Therapy Graduation Ceremony. My name is Connor Carrigan, and I am the Class of 2022 Physician Assistant Class President. I am honored today to have the opportunity to address my classmates together, one last time before we each begin down our different paths as PAs. It would only be truthful to say that I know today is an emotional day for all of us. It is a day full of well-deserved pride, sense of accomplishment, gratitude, absolute relief…. and also hope. As your peer, I have no advice that I felt I could impart at today’s ceremony. Instead, I made a list of things I hope for us all in everything that comes next.

  Hippocrates, well known Greek physician and titled father of medicine, once stated:

  “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.” As we have all experienced over the past 27 months, particularly in completing our education through Covid, medicine can be a very difficult field to work in. This brings me to my first hope. I hope that no matter where you end up, and no matter what challenges life throws at you, I hope you continue to love medicine as much as we all do right now. I think it is our love for medicine that can always bring us back to our humanity, no matter how difficult the times may be.

  Looking to the near future, our cohort has many great things ahead of us. Many of you have already accepted positions in a wide variety of specialties. Many of you are also in the process of interviewing for exciting opportunities in front of you. Some of you will be moving on to fellowships for additional training, and some of you plan to take a well deserved break and study hard for boards. As we all transition to practice, I think it is important to remember what role we now take on. Just as you were once inspired by a PA, you now will be in a position to inspire and teach others. My second hope is that you all take pride in teaching and mentoring the next generation of providers. We did it! And soon we will have the opportunity to continue passing that on.

  Like many of you, prior to PA school I actually used to enjoy reading… and I do actually mean for fun! It is something I hope to get back to soon. One of my favorite authors, J.R.R Tolkien, wrote a dialogue that stuck with me through the years. In one of his most famous works, it reads “I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” I can say with confidence that I have witnessed a group of seemingly ordinary people do very extraordinary things together over these past two years. It has been a pleasure learning, studying, volunteering, and growing together as providers with you through this program. My last hope is that you never forget it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Let’s continue to make the world a little less dark everyday.

  In conclusion, I would like to thank our professors and adjunct faculty for their hard work, dedication to this profession, and determination to see us succeed. I would also like to thank all of our preceptors and clinical sites for our experiences. Thank you to all of the parents, host families, and friends that supported us through this journey. I would also like to thank my wife and all significant others that went through PA school with us, we know it wasn’t easy. Lastly, I want to thank God for being with me every step of the way.

  Congratulations class of 2022, I wish you all the very best.

• Hanna Stanley - Class of 2020 Commencement Address August 2020
  

  Hello family and friends, faculty and graduates. Thank you for choosing to being a part of our special day.

  Though the circumstances under which we are receiving our highest honors today are quite unconventional, we can agree that some aspects of this day are a blessing. Some family members that were unable to travel can be a part of our ceremony, thus I have no doubt that people all across the states are able to celebrate with us today.

  Thank you to our faculty for making this happen in a way that could still be special to us.

  The graduates you see on screen have worked for years to accomplish the goal that we have officially reached today. I’m sure the administration can share the stats GPAs, admission criteria, and previous experience that we had before coming to PA school, which are all nothing short of impressive. They will cover the formalities and congratulations on how hard we have worked to complete the program. However, I want to share a few more personal things.

  When I look back on PA school, what I’ll remember most is the hardships we faced together. Cramming silently before exams. Pretending to be each other’s patients for practicals. Understanding the pressure we were under to succeed. No one except us 30 graduates can understand the experiences we’ve had over the last 27 months, and that is a special bond we will forever hold.

  I’ll think of struggling through anatomy and the late night and weekend hours we spent in the lab listening to music over the speakers and attempting to finish our dissections. I’ll think of the times of stress relief, like when we went to the lake on the fourth of July during first semester. This was probably the only day we truly relaxed from May to August that year.

  I’ll remember the bonfire we had to burn our lab coats and signify we had survived anatomy. I’ll remember all the inside jokes we had about the funny things our professors would say. Sorry guys.

  I’ll remember how this strong and amazing group of professionals supported each other. I’ll remember stopping in the hallway to vent or just say “How are you?” and truly meaning it because we were all concerned for each other’s health and wellbeing.

  I’ll remember coming together for callback days between rotations. We would all catch up and give each other the scoop on our upcoming experiences. I’ll remember getting together every chance we could to de-stress and spend time together and have a little fun. “Self-care,” right faculty?

  I’ll remember the way we supported and loved on each other most. This shows me that we have a capable group of sympathetic, caring, and professional physician assistants that will soon be going out into the world and caring for patients.

  Best of luck, class of 2020!

   

  Hanna Stanley, Class President, Class of 2020

• Ryan Short- Class of 2019 Commencement Address August 2019
  

  “It is very rare to find a human being today. They are always going somewhere, hardly ever being here.  That is why I call them ‘human goings’.” –

  Ajahn Brahm is responsible for that quote and it has stuck with me since I stumbled across it.  I believe it serves as a great reminder to be in the moment, to be “here”.  Often times we get lost in the “going”, trying to hastily complete the journey because our sights are set on the destination. 

  Our class has some good destinations waiting, the Armed Forces, Interventional Radiology, Orthopedics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Ear Nose and Throat, Allergy, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Oncology, Emergency Medicine, and some brave souls have chosen to continue their education through Fellowships.

  These new careers come with hard work, long hours, lots of reading, and of course a healthy dose of caffeine.  As we refine our skills in both medical science and the art of patient care. We must remember enjoy the journey on our way to the next destination, to be a human being not a human going.

   

  My head is full of mnemonics from our review course earlier this week.  So naturally I wrote one that might assist us in our “human being”.

   

  “BREATH”

   

  B – Belly laugh – Maybe not in front of your patients but please don’t forget self-care

   

  R – Read - continue to learn and evolve as practitioners as the world of medicine changes around us.

   

  E – Empathize – I don’t’ know what else to say here.  Be a good human

   

  A – Adapt – Be prepared without being rigid.

   

  T – Teach – Share your knowledge, with patients, with colleagues, and with aspiring medical providers

   

  H – Heal – This one should have been predictable.  It is why we are all here.

   

  I want to leave you with another quote.  One I feel works on multiple levels, but I’m not going to tell you why… Free high fives to anyone who knows the reference.

   

  Ahem…           

   

  “You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.”

   

  To my friends and fellow graduates … congratulations… we did it!