Commencements symbolize the start of a new chapter. More importantly the start of summer!! During the month of May we were able to celebrate a few very important commencements!  Some of my closest friends were graduating from medical school, after going through the grueling combined MD/PhD program!  They were able to get through in 7 years flat, meaning they will be my senior residents when I get to the floors - whoot, whoot!

Josiah and Taylor were celebrating their commencement this year! So I was able to attend an cheer them on, from the very back row, with a stroller loaded down full of children, hoping they would continue to eat their snacks in silence! ;)

Given the long haul that is an MD/PhD program, we celebrated with dinners, pictures, wine, memories, and a lot of laughs. It was a great weekend!

In addition to the big school wide graduation ceremony, I had the opportunity to attend the Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) ceremony and be recognized for the completion of my PhD! We enjoyed the opening remarks from our fearless leader, Dr. Wishwa Kapoor, and then a keynote address about the ups/downs and unknowns of a career as a physician scientist. I was the only PhD graduate this year, and Dr. Switzer gave a really nice speech about my journey through graduate school - I was blushing hard core and grateful for his kind, embellished words.

Commencement is a great opportunity to pause, reflect, and celebrate your journey and accomplishments along the way to a larger goal.

Little by little, we go far.  Looking forward to the next chapter already!

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