share interactive transcript request transcript/captions live captions
download
|
MyPlaylist
[AUDIO LOGO] [THREE PIECES-- I MAESTOSO ALLA MARCIA]
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: Welcome, everyone. It's great to see all of you here. My name is Lorin Warnick, and it's my pleasure to serve as Dean of the Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. So now I'll ask all the class interns and residents to be seated, and we'll test the premise of whether there's enough seats.
So I welcome the class of 2024-- also, our finishing interns and residents, parents, and other family members, friends, faculty, and staff of the college. And I also extend a warm welcome to those watching online. The success of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program and all the work of our college is the result of dedicated professionals who teach, conduct, research, and provide public service. And I invite all the faculty and staff in attendance to stand and be recognized.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you. And thanks especially for all your hard work on behalf of our students. I also want to recognize Dr. A'ndrea Van Schoick, member of the Cornell Board of Trustees and a member of our College Advisory Council, who is also the White Coat Speaker for this class last year. Andrea, if you want to wave and stand up.
[APPLAUSE]
My colleagues on the stand, Dr. Lauren Kleine, New York State Veterinary Medical Society President, Assistant Dean Jai Sweet, Associate Deans Jodi Korich and Meg Thompson, and Dr. Daniel Lopez, who will speak to us later. So thank you for being here.
[APPLAUSE]
I also want to thank and welcome my wife, Jill, who's attending today. And I appreciate her steadfast support for me and our college community. Thanks, Jill.
[APPLAUSE]
In this ceremony, our graduates will don their doctoral hoods. And tomorrow afternoon, President Pollack will formally confer the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine to the class of 2024. When your class photo is added to the collection of class pictures in the main hallway in the college, it will be the 126th class so honored. And we look forward to seeing yours added.
[APPLAUSE]
A lot has changed over those decades in technology-- advances in science, disease treatment and prevention, and the growth of small animal veterinary practice, wildlife health, and many other disciplines. But while many advances have been made, some of the challenges are much the same. And a recent example is the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza to dairy cattle, illustrating the impact of pathogens that evolve over time to cross species barriers. Dr. Diego Diel and his colleagues in our Animal Health Diagnostic Center are at the forefront of diagnosis and research related to avian influenza and are doing their part to contribute knowledge to respond to this new threat.
We also benefited from the expertise of this same team when Cornell set up the COVID-19 testing laboratory as part of our COVID response effort. This laboratory was done in collaboration with Cayuga Health Systems, Our local human healthcare provider, began operations in August 2020, just in time for that fall semester to open, and over 2 and 1/2 years of operation, processed over 2 million human COVID-19 samples. Much of those were done right in the College of Veterinary Medicine. I'm sure the class of 2024 feels like you contributed your fair share to that 2 million. In the early days of our testing program, we had frequent testing for all of us in the community.
This work, at the intersection of animal, human, and environmental health, is a rewarding opportunity for veterinarians and other scientists. Just as one other example, faculty in our newly named K. Lisa Yang, Center for Wildlife Health and in our Department of Public and Ecosystem Health are exploring ways to preserve natural habitats and understand disease transmission in order to help prevent the interactions of people, domestic animals, and wildlife that can lead to deadly pandemics, as we experienced with COVID-19. And the Wildlife Center, which is led by Dr. Steve Osofsky, DVM, class of 1989, it was funded this year by a generous gift from Board of Trustees member K. Lisa Yang, and we're very grateful for her support.
So just as our faculty and staff provide critical public service, and our new graduates will play their parts in promoting animal and human health, as each of the students comes forward for hooding, you'll hear about their plans for this coming year about the places they'll go, types of jobs they'll take, and so on. The veterinary degree prepares and qualifies you for many different career paths, and it allows flexibility for those who want to seek new opportunities later. There's no better example of that than our Cornell's provost and soon-to-be interim president of the university, Dr. Michael Kotlikoff, who's a veterinary doctor. And our students may know him better as Dr. McDaniel's spouse. So we're very appreciative and proud of Provost Kotlikoff's accomplishments and service to the university.
Graduation is an exciting time where you find yourself just at that juncture between completing a really challenging and rewarding program and also being on the precipice of moving to new places, new jobs, new colleagues, and new experiences. And I remember that feeling well from my own graduation from Colorado State University, albeit many years ago.
As I was finished my veterinary degree, I wanted to do a large animal internship and then a PhD in epidemiology. Cornell was among the institutions that listed a farm animal ambulatory internship in the matching program book. When I asked our 3 and 1/2 year old son where we should move, he emphatically said New York. And here we are all these years later. I've enjoyed rewarding experiences in clinical work, research, and teaching, academic service. Students who rode with me as I was an ambulatory clinician going out to local farms on calls are now among the ranks of our faculty, and it's really a great pleasure to see their success and impact.
So the variety of careers in veterinary medicine is interesting and dynamic. As our students say, and no offense to any MDs in the audience, real doctors treat more than one species.
[LAUGHTER]
While most of my animal work was with dairy cattle and other domestic farm animals, I've also had cases ranging from a gerbil to an elephant with some whitetail deer in the mix and even a bear-- very well-sedated, I might add.
[LAUGHTER]
And I always enjoyed the comparative medicine experience.
Because of your immersion in veterinary education, I expect you started to see life through a new lens. If a friend or family member tells you of recently experiencing a surgical procedure, rather than responding with, how are you doing, I hope you're OK, you may first say, what suture did they use or did they give you an antibiotic, and what is it? On seeing these flowers here that Jill brought in from our yard, you may not be focusing on their beautiful colors. You might be thinking about the genus, species, and the toxic principles that you learned from Dr. Mary Smith and others.
So you've learned a new vocabulary, which is good for communicating about clinical cases with specificity and clarity, but it's not always best for talking to clients or colleagues from other disciplines.
During my ambulatory clinic days, we were treating a cow for left displaced abomasum. This is a twist in one of the stomach compartments of ruminants. We were, as we say, rolling and toggling the cow to correct the displacement and giving some intravenous fluids. And the owner asked me, well, how is this likely to turn out?
So I thought, well, I want to put this in terms that would be kind of relatable. And I said, well, if we treated 100 cows like this, I would expect about 80 to 85 of them to recover, and another 15 to 20 might not do so well. And he looked at me thoughtfully for a minute and he said, well, that's fine because I only have 30 cows.
[LAUGHTER]
Communication is hard but will also, in my experience, be the foundation of your success. And I encourage you to continue to develop these critical skills. These include respectful listening, knowing what you want to say and saying it clearly in language that can be understood, showing empathy, and expressing gratitude. And just as an aside, Jill's and my little son, who recommended New York as our post-graduate education or internship, he was born in the fall I started veterinary college. And one of the first words that he learned was displaced abomasum.
[LAUGHTER]
Another key skill for veterinarians is to press on in the face of adversity. South of Ithaca, there's a little town called Willseyville. Every time I drive down to Owego, I see the turnoff, and I'm reminding of an emergency call there for a prolapsed uterus in a dairy cow. And I'll spare you all the graphic details, but this is a condition where some of what should be inside the cow ends up outside the cow. And it's one of the most physically demanding conditions for veterinarians to correct.
When my students and I arrived at the farm, we learned the cow is out in the far pasture, up a hill. It was too muddy to drive our truck to be nearby, so we loaded our supplies on a four wheeler. The sun went down as we rode out through the fields. As we got started, a cold rain started. After a half hour of exertion in the dark, wet and cold, by flashlight, I heard something snorting and pawing the ground just out of the rim of light. I asked the farmer if he had a bull in the pasture and he replied, yes, and that's him.
For those who don't know, dairy bulls are among the most dangerous animals we work with, something I knew about from firsthand experience. In this case, thankfully, the bull continued to patrol the perimeter. We finished with no real harm to my students and me, other than worry.
But we all have days where troubles seem to compound and grow on each other. And at those times, it helps me to know that if I can stay calm, rely on help of colleagues, keep moving forward, things often work out-- maybe not as perfectly as you'd hoped, but at least with the satisfaction of having done your best.
So as you graduates head out into the next phase of your careers, I hope you take satisfaction in your accomplishments as a veterinary student, and I hope you look forward to the rewarding experiences of having a positive impact on the health of animals, the health of people, and on their communities. You will build on the knowledge and skills you've worked so hard to acquire during your education, and you will especially benefit from the relationships and professional networks that you've established here at Cornell and those that you will add in the future. And I'm very confident that you'll find your work as a doctor of veterinary medicine as rewarding as I have. Congratulations and best wishes for the future. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
So it's now my great pleasure to invite to the podium New York State Veterinary Medical Society President Dr. Lauren Kleine to administer the veterinarian's oath. Dr. Kleine.
[APPLAUSE]
LAUREN KLEINE: Thank you, Dean Warnock. So it is my honor to be here today on this monumental time in your careers. And I just wanted to share with you the veterinarian's oath. It's really a promise. It's a promise to animals, your clients, your colleagues, your community, and your profession. And, most importantly, it's a promise to yourselves.
So there will be times throughout your career where you're faced with ethical challenges and moral dilemmas, and I encourage you to always come home to the veterinarian's oath because the answer you're seeking is in these words. And so I'm going to ask you to all rise, please. And please raise your right hand. So "Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine--"
ALL: Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society--"
ALL: --I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--through the protection of animal health and welfare--"
ALL: --through the protection of animal health and welfare--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--and the prevention and relief of animal suffering--"
ALL: --and the prevention and relief of animal suffering--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--the conservation of animal resources and the promotion of public health--"
ALL: --the conservation of animal resources and the promotion of public health--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--and the advancement of medical knowledge--"
ALL: --and the advancement of medical knowledge--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--I will practice my profession conscientiously with dignity--"
ALL: --I will practice my profession conscientiously with dignity--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics--"
ALL: --and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics--
LAUREN KLEINE: "--I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence."
ALL: --I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.
LAUREN KLEINE: Well, congratulations, and thank you for allowing me to be here today to represent the 2,400 members of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. I encourage all of you to join your VMAs when you get out there in practice. You have had wonderful mentorship in your faculty while here, but when you get out in practice, you will need us. So those of you who intend to stay in New York State, we look forward to serving you. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: Thank you. Now I'll invite Dr. Jai Sweet, Assistant Dean for Veterinary Student Services and Admissions, to come forward to introduce the class for the hooding ceremony. Dr. Sweet.
[APPLAUSE]
JAI SWEET: Thank you, Dean Warnock. All of you can-- if you can sit down. The first row, please remain standing.
Sarah Abdelmessih.
[APPLAUSE]
Sarah will be doing a small animal rotating internship at the MSPCA in Boston.
[APPLAUSE]
Ali Muhammad Ali.
[APPLAUSE]
Ali will be starting his internship at the University of Georgia and hopes to pursue residency training in small animal surgery.
[APPLAUSE]
Peyton Victoria Atkins.
[APPLAUSE]
Peyton will be completing an equine internship at Littleton Equine in Littleton, Colorado.
[APPLAUSE]
Carolina Isabela Baquerizo.
[APPLAUSE]
Carolina will be working towards her goals of practicing wildlife medicine.
[APPLAUSE]
Charles Howard Belnap.
[APPLAUSE]
Charles will be doing a rotating internship at a small animal practice in Seattle.
[APPLAUSE]
Sean Bellefeuille.
[APPLAUSE]
Sean will be joining a small animal practice in Rochester, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Elena Bettale.
[APPLAUSE]
Elena will be going into an equine rotating internship at Rood and Riddle in Wellington, Florida.
[APPLAUSE]
Erica Nicole Blair.
[APPLAUSE]
Erica is excited to be joining a small animal practice in Rochester, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Ariel Bohner.
[APPLAUSE]
Ariel will be joining a mixed animal practice in Washington State.
[APPLAUSE]
Emily Elizabeth Bono.
[APPLAUSE]
Emily will be entering a shelter and community medicine internship at Dumb Friends League in Denver, Colorado.
[APPLAUSE]
Monica Joy Bromschwig.
[APPLAUSE]
Monica will be joining a feline general practice in the Minneapolis area.
[APPLAUSE]
Alexandra Pressure Brown.
[APPLAUSE]
Alexandra is exploring clinical practice opportunities anywhere in the country.
[APPLAUSE]
Lena Michelle Mercado.
[APPLAUSE]
Lena will be joining a small animal practice in Philadelphia.
[APPLAUSE]
Maria Burgess is not attending, but Maria will be practicing military veterinary medicine as an officer in the US Army Veterinary Corps, beginning with a year-long internship at Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
[APPLAUSE]
Allyson Ann Butler.
[APPLAUSE]
Ally will be joining VCA Colonial Animal Hospital for a small animal surgical and emergency mentorship program.
[APPLAUSE]
Caroline Olivia Calabro.
[APPLAUSE]
Caroline will be completing a small animal rotating internship at Colorado State University.
[APPLAUSE]
Eleni Marie Casseri.
[APPLAUSE]
Eleni will be joining a large animal exclusive ambulatory practice in Northern Vermont.
[APPLAUSE]
Kristina Ceres.
[APPLAUSE]
Christina will be conducting postdoctoral research in wildlife health populations.
[APPLAUSE]
Elena Cesperis is not attending. Next, we have-- the first row, I think, may sit. Second row, please stand.
Doreen Elizabeth Chan.
[APPLAUSE]
Doreen will be returning to California to work at a small animal practice.
[APPLAUSE]
Ava Danielle Hench Chrysler.
[APPLAUSE]
Ava will be starting an equine internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Leah Chung.
[APPLAUSE]
Leah will be joining a small animal general practice in Philadelphia.
[APPLAUSE]
Allan Amaral Kohlberg.
[APPLAUSE]
Allen will be pursuing a small animal rotating internship in San Diego, California.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren Connolly.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren will be working as a general practitioner, joining a small animal practice in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Alyssa Marie Cote.
[APPLAUSE]
Alyssa will be practicing small animal urgent care and shelter medicine in Vermont.
[APPLAUSE]
Claire Ruby [INAUDIBLE] DiLeo.
[APPLAUSE]
Claire will be working as a mixed animal practitioner in White Sulfur Springs, Montana.
[APPLAUSE]
Megan Catherine Dudek.
[APPLAUSE]
Megan will be practicing small animal emergency medicine in Buffalo.
[APPLAUSE]
Matthew James Edwards.
[APPLAUSE]
Matthew will be joining a small animal clinic outside Minneapolis.
[APPLAUSE]
Lita Elias.
[APPLAUSE]
Lita will be pursuing a small animal rotating internship with a special interest in exotic medicine at the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center.
[APPLAUSE]
Munali Dinesh Faldu.
[APPLAUSE]
Munali will be completing an emergency focused internship at Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center.
[APPLAUSE]
Danielle Ferriola.
[APPLAUSE]
Danielle will be joining a small animal general practice in the Hudson Valley.
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah Kay Fleming.
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah will be doing a small animal rotating internship in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Amanda Jeanette Flanagan.
[APPLAUSE]
Amanda will be joining a small animal and exotics practice in New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Mitchell Gage.
[APPLAUSE]
Mitchell will be joining a small animal and exotics general practice in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Ashley Gao.
[APPLAUSE]
Ashley will be doing a small, animal rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles.
[APPLAUSE]
Colin Geer.
[APPLAUSE]
Colin will be entering an equine internship at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Dimitria Gomes.
[APPLAUSE]
Dimitria will be entering a lab animal medicine residency in Boston, Massachusetts.
[APPLAUSE]
Younjin Han.
[APPLAUSE]
Younjin will be going to the University of Pennsylvania for a small animal rotating internship.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren Barbara Healy.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren will be pursuing a small animal rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center.
[APPLAUSE]
Katrina Heckman.
[APPLAUSE]
Katrina will be joining a small animal practice in Central Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Martha Hemming Hoffman.
[APPLAUSE]
Martha will be a shelter and community medicine intern at the Massachusetts SPCA.
[APPLAUSE]
Daniela Hojda.
[APPLAUSE]
Daniela will be joining a small animal practice in her hometown in South Florida.
[APPLAUSE]
Alanna Richelle Horton.
[APPLAUSE]
Alana will be starting a small animal rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
[APPLAUSE]
Sadie Rae Hoobler.
[APPLAUSE]
Sadie will be joining a small animal practice in Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Morgan Halbert.
[APPLAUSE]
Morgan will be heading to Loomis Basin Equine in California for a one-year rotating equine internship.
[APPLAUSE]
Jennifer Ashley Ida.
[APPLAUSE]
Jennifer will be pursuing international dairy production and global health research.
[APPLAUSE]
Mio Ito.
[APPLAUSE]
Mia will be completing a small animal rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Ivanka Genevieve Juran.
[APPLAUSE]
Ivanka will be completing a small animal rotating internship at Veterinary Referral Associates in Maryland.
[APPLAUSE]
Second row, you may sit. Third row, please stand.
Stacy [INAUDIBLE] Kaneko.
[APPLAUSE]
Stacy will be working in the field of public health.
[APPLAUSE]
Lily Jay Kim.
[APPLAUSE]
Lily will be moving to California with the ultimate goal of retirement.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
Mihira Konda.
[APPLAUSE]
Mahira will be joining an emergency hospital in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Christel-Remy [INAUDIBLE] Kuck.
[APPLAUSE]
Christel-Remy will be completing a small animal rotating internship at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Charisse LaPointe.
[APPLAUSE]
Charisse will be completing an equine internship in Lexington, Kentucky.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha Marie Lee.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha will be joining a small animal practice in Cortland, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Vivian Marie Lee.
[APPLAUSE]
Vivian will be doing a one-year internship at a small animal specialty hospital in Chicago and continuing to pursue her dreams of becoming an aquatic and conservation veterinarian.
[APPLAUSE]
Alexander Anatoly Levitskiy.
[APPLAUSE]
Alex will be pursuing a small animal rotating internship at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Seth Daniel Lieberman.
[APPLAUSE]
Seth will be pursuing a residency in comparative medicine and laboratory animal medicine at Yale University.
[APPLAUSE]
Yimei Lin.
[APPLAUSE]
Yimei will be practicing small animal general practice or shelter medicine somewhere sunnier than upstate New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Xinci Ling.
[APPLAUSE]
Xinci, Jessie, as she's known, will be starting a rotating internship at AMC in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Patrick Liu.
[APPLAUSE]
Patrick will be starting a small animal rotating internship at DoveLewis in Portland, Oregon.
[APPLAUSE]
Emmy Hijue Luo.
[APPLAUSE]
Emmy will be completing a small animal rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Ambrielle Justine Machuca.
[APPLAUSE]
Ambriel will be entering a small animal rotating internship.
[APPLAUSE]
Alexandra Danielle Markmann.
[APPLAUSE]
Alexandra will be joining a small animal practice in Syracuse, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Casey McCabe.
[APPLAUSE]
Casey will be practicing emergency small animal medicine in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah Adele McCray,
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah will be practicing bovine medicine at Keseca Veterinary Clinic in Geneva, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Sonya Lynn Meiburg.
[APPLAUSE]
Sonya will be doing large animal ambulatory work in Westchester, New York, with Mid-Hudson Veterinary Practice.
[APPLAUSE]
Natalie Cynthia Mee.
[APPLAUSE]
Natalie will be joining a small animal practice in her hometown of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Anna Marie Morante.
[APPLAUSE]
Anna will be joining a general practice in Rochester, New York, working with dogs, cats, and companion exotics.
[APPLAUSE]
Gabrielle Eileen Mary.
[APPLAUSE]
Gabriel will be practicing mixed animal medicine at Perry Veterinary Clinic.
[APPLAUSE]
Kaylee Lynn Montney.
[APPLAUSE]
Kaylee will be completing a hospital internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
[APPLAUSE]
Nardine Nasser.
[APPLAUSE]
Nardine will be joining Veterinary Emergency Group in New Jersey. She will be completing a six-month ER mentorship program known as the NERD program.
[APPLAUSE]
Laura Ashley Olshansky.
[APPLAUSE]
Ashley will be practicing small animal and exotic medicine at Shelburne Veterinary Hospital in Vermont.
[APPLAUSE]
Teresa Pan.
[APPLAUSE]
Teresa will be joining a small animal general practice in Southern California.
[APPLAUSE]
Elizabeth Pavlova.
[APPLAUSE]
Elizabeth will be starting a small animal rotating internship at the MSPCA-Angell in Boston.
[APPLAUSE]
Kendall M. Peterkin.
[APPLAUSE]
Kendall will be completing a small animal rotating internship at an emergency and referral hospital in San Diego, California.
[APPLAUSE]
Chloe Tokuen Pham
[APPLAUSE]
Chloe is excited to be joining a small animal general practice in Brooklyn, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Colleen Joan Powers.
[APPLAUSE]
Colleen will be joining a mixed animal practice in Montpelier, Vermont.
[APPLAUSE]
Julia Paige Railo.
[APPLAUSE]
Julia will be joining a small animal practice in Washington State.
[APPLAUSE]
Brandon Rothwell.
[APPLAUSE]
Brandon will be joining a small animal practice in Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Matthew Riley.
[APPLAUSE]
Matt will be joining his father and brother at Springfield Animal Hospital in Buffalo, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Eddie Rios Guzman.
[APPLAUSE]
Eddie will be shaking paws, ruffling feathers, and scratching scales as part of a small animal rotating internship at Piper Veterinary in Connecticut.
[APPLAUSE]
Shauna Alexandra Rosenthal.
[APPLAUSE]
Shauna will be practicing emergency medicine in the Bay Area.
[APPLAUSE]
Elle Ryan.
[APPLAUSE]
Elle will be starting a small animal rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Shiv Viran Salwan.
[APPLAUSE]
Shiv will be a general practitioner in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha Kate Sandwick.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha will be completing a rotating internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC.
[APPLAUSE]
Nicole Samantha Santa Cruz.
[APPLAUSE]
Nicole will be entering a small animal rotating internship at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Michael Ezra Schaff.
[APPLAUSE]
Michael will be working at a small animal practice in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Sarah Alexandra Schatz.
[APPLAUSE]
Sarah will be doing a small animal internship at Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center.
[APPLAUSE]
Christina Chamberlain [? Schoffield. ?]
[APPLAUSE]
Christina will be joining Veterinary Associates of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
[APPLAUSE]
Madison Elizabeth Seaver-Rodriguez.
[APPLAUSE]
Maddie will be working in a mixed animal general practice in Cleveland, Ohio.
[APPLAUSE]
Seth Shirky.
[APPLAUSE]
Seth will be joining Bentley Veterinary Practice, a mixed farm animal practice in the Hudson Valley of New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha Elizabeth Siess.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha will be completing a small animal rotating internship at the University of Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
David Fiscus Singler.
[APPLAUSE]
David will be working in small animal emergency practice in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Sydney Elizabeth Slotje.
[APPLAUSE]
Sydney will be joining a small animal general practice in Washington, DC.
[APPLAUSE]
Faith Lebowski.
[APPLAUSE]
Faith will be joining Animal Emergency and Specialty Hospital, practicing emergency medicine in Michigan.
[APPLAUSE]
Elizabeth Smith is not attending, but she will be joining a small animal practice in Ontario.
[APPLAUSE]
Neil Anthony Smith.
[APPLAUSE]
Neil will be joining a small animal practice in Rochester, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Abigail Ladd Bierman [INAUDIBLE].
[APPLAUSE]
Abby will be working at a small animal general practice in Massachusetts with a focus in behavior medicine.
[APPLAUSE]
Colleen Delaney Sorge.
[APPLAUSE]
Colleen will be joining Mineola Animal Hospital on Long Island.
[APPLAUSE]
Elizabeth Vivian Saint Clair.
[APPLAUSE]
Elizabeth will be working as an emergency veterinarian at a specialty hospital outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren Anne-Marie Stefan.
[APPLAUSE]
Lauren will be joining a small animal general practice in Syracuse, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
Madeline Smith Stolow.
[APPLAUSE]
Madeleine will be returning to Manhattan to work at a small animal practice.
[APPLAUSE]
Zana Leah Sullivan.
[APPLAUSE]
Zana will be joining a small animal practice in Oregon.
[APPLAUSE]
Lilla Marie Julia Tilton-Flodd.
[APPLAUSE]
Lilla will be joining a mixed animal practice in Maine and seeing all species small and large.
[APPLAUSE]
Kaela Danielle Toback.
[APPLAUSE]
Kaela will be practicing small animal and exotic animal medicine at Veterinary Emergency Group in New York City.
[APPLAUSE]
Brittany Torchia.
[APPLAUSE]
Brittany will be joining Mowi Canada East working with farmed Atlantic salmon.
[APPLAUSE]
Eileen Lucia Troconis Gonzalez.
[APPLAUSE]
Eileen will be practicing small animal emergency medicine at a hospital in Massachusetts.
[APPLAUSE]
Victoria Tsen Paepcke.
[APPLAUSE]
Victoria will be joining a mixed animal practice in Paris, Ontario, and is excited to be providing care to a plethora of animals, including cows, horses, dogs, and cats.
[APPLAUSE]
Alayzha Tiana Turner-Rodgers.
[APPLAUSE]
Alayzha will be starting a small animal rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital in New Jersey.
[APPLAUSE]
Christian Alexander Urbina.
[APPLAUSE]
Christian will be starting a small animal rotating internship with Metropolitan Veterinary Associates in Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah Jane van Bergen.
[APPLAUSE]
Hannah will be practicing small animal emergency medicine in Boston.
[APPLAUSE]
Olivia Quinn Vigiletti.
[APPLAUSE]
Olivia will be completing a small animal rotating internship in Denver, Colorado.
[APPLAUSE]
Kelsey Elizabeth Warner.
[APPLAUSE]
Kelsey will be rotating between three small animal general practices in Buffalo, New York-- North Buffalo Animal Hospital, Ellicott Street Animal Hospital, and the West Side Pet Clinic.
[APPLAUSE]
Jacob James Weber.
[APPLAUSE]
Jacob will be joining a large animal ambulatory practice in Central Pennsylvania.
[APPLAUSE]
Samantha Brianne Wilcox.
[APPLAUSE]
Sam will be joining the emergency and critical care department at a small animal referral hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
[APPLAUSE]
Bristol Rose Woods.
[APPLAUSE]
Bristol will be joining a mixed animal practice in the Catskill Mountains.
[APPLAUSE]
Brittany Chow is not in attendance, but Brittany will be practicing small animal general practice in Dallas, Texas.
[APPLAUSE]
Tanner Yuhas.
[APPLAUSE]
Tanner will be joining Crown Veterinary Specialists in New Jersey as a rotating intern.
[APPLAUSE]
Yufei Zhang.
[APPLAUSE]
Yufei will be staying at Cornell and joining Dr. Hayashi's lab as a research fellow with a focus in canine orthopedic diseases.
[APPLAUSE]
Kimberly Veronica Zullo.
[APPLAUSE]
Kimberly will be completing an equine internship at Rhinebeck Equine in Rhinebeck, New York.
[APPLAUSE]
That concludes the hooding of the doctors. The class of 2024 DVM program. Please join me in congratulating them.
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: OK, thank you. Please be seated.
Well done. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
So I now have the pleasure of introducing the speaker for the class. Dr. Lopez has the recipient of the Dr. Alexander de Lahunta Teaching Award. And we established this award last year to honor Dr. D and one of our current faculty. Dr. de Lahunta, I think, is considered to have set the standard for veterinary education during his career here at Cornell-- just an outstanding clinician, educator, and was very dedicated to the students.
The award recipient is selected by the fourth-year class. And so it's my honor to introduce Dr. Daniel Lopez. He's assistant professor of small animal medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences-- I'll mention, also, a lapsed dairy student, but I don't hold that against him. And we're very much looking forward to hearing doctor Lopez's remarks. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
DANIEL LOPEZ: It's my secret stash down there. Dearest class of 2024, family, and friends-- and if you thought my emails were long, here we go. Before we get started, I have been explicitly instructed that if I do not provide recognition to one individual during this address, I won't have a place to sleep tonight. I've always tried to come to commencement where I would sit in the balcony up there, as it lets you simultaneously capture the grandeur of the ceremony, as well as witnessing all the tiny little interactions that happen.
During one of these years when my wife wasn't working full-time to support me through residency and simultaneously raising our children and simultaneously starting law school, she sat with me and asked what I would say when I won the award. It seemed preposterous to me then, and it still seems preposterous to me now, but thank you, Jamie Ann, for believing in me and supporting me. See, in front of all these witnesses, I actually can follow instructions.
[LAUGHTER]
Knock it off, I have a lot to say. We've got to get this moving. No, honestly, protect me from my parents when they wonder why they didn't get a special shout-out for funding my education. So that's on you. And just one more quick aside of how supportive my wife is, knowing that this was the biggest day of my professional life, she reached out personally to fanduel.com to see if she could get live betting odds on whether I would cry or not during this talk. 10 to 1 odds is what she said. I was the underdog. And thankfully, for me, they declined.
Now that we've taken care of that, it is an honor to receive the Dr. Alexander De La junta Teaching Award. And while my wife is already tired of having to sit-in the back seat of the car because that award plaque you gave me rides shotgun, I am most grateful for being granted the opportunity to provide you with your final words here at Cornell.
And while this opportunity is the greatest gift, it has proven to be an enormous weight in trying to identify something of quality to speak about. I've spent the past month wracking my brain about a potential topic-- yes month. Even though this honor was just awarded Monday, some of you are terrible at keeping secrets-- [EXAGGERATED COUGH] Dr. Sweet.
A certain self-induced pressure in these addresses exist, where somehow, just maybe, the next 15 minutes might have the potential to be more impactful than our previous years together. And you know from the lecture that I can really pack the words in.
Yet the harsh reality is that my words were more likely than not quickly fade into obscurity. As a surgeon, it is hard to fathom that every word that comes out of my mouth might not be the greatest thing ever said.
[LAUGHTER]
But for the sake of my ego, we're going to keep pretending that you'll hang on to every word I say, and we're going to try and find a topic. I thought about going with you're not special route. One of the more memorable and impactful commencement speeches of recent time, it has some truths, but it just wasn't true about you because each and every single one of you are special. Your family knows it, your friends know it, and I know it. The highlight of my career has been getting to know each and every one of you because each of you have a different story. So this topic didn't work.
And so then I thought, maybe we can talk about the prestigious history of our College of Veterinary Medicine because that'll rile everyone up. For example, the irony of graduating in Liberty Hyde Bailey Hall-- in 1908, Liberty Hyde Bailey was the dean of the newly founded College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and he had a grand vision to merge, or more so engulf, the College of Veterinary Medicine. Bailey felt that veterinary colleges and agricultural colleges belonged together, for a veterinary college deals with a phase of agriculture. Dr. James Law, our college's founder and first dean, essentially told him to stick it in his ear, as veterinary medicine is closely aligned to medicine of man, not to agriculture.
After much discussion and a board of trustee vote, our two colleges have remained separate for over 116 years, as we ironically sit on Liberty Hyde Bailey stage today. But look at you. It's hot. You're bored already. You can't stop thinking about the cookies that are up there at the atrium waiting for us. And some of you have already thought, is he ever going to shut up? Spoiler, you don't want me to because when I stop, it means you're going to have to face the uncertainties of the world, a.k.a. You are going to have to finally take over that cell phone bill from your family.
[APPLAUSE]
In February-- but ultimately, I decided to do what any reasonable surgeon would do, which is to talk about myself. So, in February of 2021, I had just passed my surgical board's examination. I somehow held a faculty-level position at one of the world's most prestigious universities, I had a wonderful growing family, and when everything was finally supposed to be so much easier, everything suddenly got so much harder. The metaphorical carrot at the end of the stick had disappeared. And you think with that would come happiness. But it did not.
And so my hope with this address is to make you aware of this philosophical challenge that awaits you, the disappearance of the carrot at the end of the stick. Some of you will be heading directly into practice. Some of you will be pursuing additional training. Some of you might be second guessing those decisions even right now-- knock it off.
But the inevitable fate that awaits all of you, whether today, four years from now, or 20 years from now if you're chasing that zoological residency, is that the structure dopamine hits you have been receiving are going to disappear. There is no longer the predictable dopamine score that comes with finishing your 97th block 5 exam. There is no longer the ability to look forward to the ECC rotation as you suffer through that unbearable soft tissue surgery rotation. With the conclusion of your higher education, life finally transitions into one big grind. For some of you, this has been your daydream. For others, it might be an unexpected nightmare and is why I chose to address it today.
To successfully navigate this transition, you are going to need to find your spark, as coined by the 2020 Disney movie Soul and, serendipitously, the same year you started veterinary school. Therefore, my charge to the class of 2024 is to consider your spark as being as simple as this-- be someone who brings good into the world, someone who counteracts nature's natural tendency to revert back to a state of disorder, which is aligned with the second law of thermodynamics and entropy. You were wondering why you took undergraduate physics. There, we snuck it in right under the wire.
But how does one bring good into the world? I don't have that answer for you, but it is something that I hope you will ponder after you leave the auditorium, will discuss with your family and friends, and will be in the back of your mind for the remainder of time.
To help foster this discussion, we should talk about the namesake of this award, someone who brought endless good to the College of Veterinary Medicine and to the world. But first, a confession-- while my blissful, ignorant hopes that all of you still believe I am turning 50 this year, fueled by my incessant denial of my age, the truth is that I am way too young to be up here. I unfortunately did not have the honor of knowing Dr. de Lahunta and only had the opportunity to hear him speak once in 2017.
Over the past week, I did my best to try and speak with the faculty who knew Dr. D, utilizing these conversations as a framework to identify ways in which you can bring good into the world. Through these conversations, three themes arose-- bringing good into the world through humility, through community quality, and through equanimity. Don't worry, I had to google that last word too, and I have a pronunciation cure right here. It just means mental composure.
But let's start with humility. Dr. De was one of the greatest clinicians and veterinary educators in the world-- 300 scientific articles, numerous textbooks, and shelves of lifetime awards. But he never viewed himself above any moment or anyone, despite his successes. And you can indeed be simultaneously special and humble.
When considering all his accolades, Dr. D felt that his greatest accomplishment was teaching the first-year veterinary courses, which allowed him to get to know every student in class by name. Just as Dr. D did, we bring good into the world when we redirect the spotlight from ourselves onto others. Dr. White, a rather famous Cornell alum, recalls how Dr. D shifted the spotlight of a newly-discovered neurological condition to himself, helping start his career.
I've encountered similar experiences, such as Dr. Rory Todhunter, the director of the Canine Riney Health Center, who shone the spotlight on me when I was a student, for which I will forever be grateful. Utilize your new granted privileges as veterinarians to shine the spotlight onto others.
But it can be easy to let your ego get away from you. As an example, over the next few months, at least several of you are going to change your Amazon Prime shipping prefix to Dr. And I will let you discuss amongst yourselves who that will most likely be. But if you're worried about remaining humble or your ego getting too big, don't worry, veterinary medicine will do that for you. Just ask Dr. Jess McArt, who humbled me when I was a fourth-year veterinary student as I didn't know the name of the cow that I just performed surgery on. Her name was 1972.
I promise life will keep your ego in check. And worst-case scenario, reach out, and I'll put you in touch with my wife, who specializes in checking egos.
When the inevitable disorder of life knocks you down, you must learn to laugh at yourself so you can pick yourself back up, dust yourself, off and continue bringing good within the world. I would like to think that Dr. D could laugh at himself, but I'm not sure the humbling scenario as we found ourselves in were comparable. For example, when speaking with Dr. White, he shared that Dr. D laughed at his inability to differentiate the tiniest histopathological changes of a spinal cord lesion-- how silly he was.
[LAUGHTER]
On the other hand, my scenario-- it was roughly November, and I was euthanizing a pet during my internship for metastatic cancer. Helping a family say goodbye to their pet is a fine balance between personalized empathy and standardized procedure and is perhaps one of the most important things we can do as veterinarians. You could perform the most heroic septuple 720 backflip cardiac bypass blindfolded and you might get a thanks bro, but when you help a suffering pet pass peacefully, the family will forever remember you.
Having now been a doctor for a whopping five months, I felt confident in my ability to support this family, and nothing could throw me off my balance. So I stepped into the room and asked the family if they were ready. Clearly, this was a beloved pet, as the entire extended family was there, including two children around the age four or five. As we discussed the process, I noticed that one of the children would cling to my leg and then return back to their parent, rinse and repeat.
However, wanting to provide my best to the family and their pet, I remained focused on the task. As I started administering the euthanasia solution, I noticed the toddler's nose directly within my shoe, sniffing the same shoes that made their infamous appearance in the senior skit somehow better conditioned now-- they are now than they were then, and the boy quickly ran back to his parents in pure terror of what he just smelled, gagging and proclaiming to the room about the horrific stink.
As I said, I'm not sure Dr. D and I had similar definitions of humbling moments, but I did learn a few lessons from this. First, just when you're getting comfortable, life will find a way to knock you back. You must be able to laugh at yourself and keep moving forward to bring good into the world. Second, learn from these moments-- for example, what to do when the toddler comes back for a second sniff? I didn't learn.
Lastly, I encourage you all to keep a bottle of Odor-Eaters in your locker-- Odor-Eaters to protect toddlers' noses from your toes. I tried to pitch that idea to the company as sponsored content and they didn't bite, unfortunately-- but our first theme of humility.
Our second theme is bringing good through community quality. Whatever Dr. D undertook, it was done with impeccable attention to detail. It was of the highest quality. Each morning began at 2:00 AM, where he would thoroughly examine all neurological patients within the hospital, carefully crafting notes and recording videos, each lecture impeccably organized and supported with his countless forms of multimedia before the iPhone era. And I can't even keep my meme collection in order, and he did all this.
But most importantly in my mind was that his quality was readily apparent to everyone in the community. He led and inspired not from his office but from the floor. Students would wake up in the middle of the night to tag along on his 2:00 AM case rounds. He held Friday neurology rounds where you didn't notice who was there but who was missing. From our own Dr. Jorge Colón, business professor, slightly paraphrased, I wasn't at all interested in neurology. I cared more about ROI than TBIs. But missing Friday neuro rounds was not even an option. Dr. D set the bar high, not by empty words, but by the quality he put forth. And students would strive to match that quality for the fear of letting him down. Through this, Dr. D brought good into the world by pushing us to be our best selves.
My favorite part of the previous year was our growing community quality, the unquantifiable efforts put forth by your class that pushed everyone around you to be better. The unwavering belief in you from the Jonathan Woods, the Susie Fubinis, the Patrick Carneys, the Meredith Millers, the Jethro Forbes and the Lenny Kaplans, the Obanos and Kirstys and Pearsons of the world-- and I can go on and on. And maybe if I had just said Dr. Miller, I would have covered half the faculty.
But we've witnessed firsthand endless community quality that brought innumerable good into the world right here. Sadly, by the end of the weekend, you will be entering a new community-- a difficult concept for me and I will save that until the end. However, whether 1 or 1,000, bring quality into your community such that making everyone their best selves and to bring good into the world.
And finally, through equanimity, whether he was out for his 5:00 AM run or dissecting the spinal cord of his latest clinical mystery, Dr. D was a master of being in the moment, being so engrossed into an activity that time is no longer a reality and your actions and awareness become effortless. Some may call it flow. Some may call it zen. And while all slightly different, all share a theme of finding inner peace from time. Regardless of the name, it is in these moments we live for. It is in these moments where we do the most good.
The challenge, though, is not only achieving the state of mental calmness, but maintaining it. In the operating room, I call this your surgical stamina, although it can apply to any nonsurgical situation. My worst mistakes occur when I have exhausted my surgical stamina and left the flow state. Your spay incision accidentally goes through the muscle, and it won't stop bleeding. Your procedure has taken longer than expected, and your next case is waiting on the adjacent table. The recurrent pneumothorax you can't seem to resolve.
When all else begins crumbling around you, time comes hurtling back to reality. Your surgical stamina depletes. You begin to rush, and you begin to make small mistakes. Eventually, these small mistakes compound to larger mistakes, and the snowball starts rolling down the Hill. And once it starts, it is almost impossible to stop that avalanche from happening.
As mentioned, our world naturally prefers a state of disorder. This inevitable chaos continually mounts and challenges our flow state. It is imperative that we combat these pressures and maintain our equanimity, such as to continue bringing good into the world. To do this, you must grow your surgical stamina. But that is easier said than done, and something that I have woefully trained you in.
However, the good news is that it is possible. Patience is not an innate attribute but a learned skill. While you might think subjecting yourself to benign nuisances will help, such as your residents playing Taylor Swift on never-ending repeat in the OR, it is more important to work on your ability to recognize the moments where things begin to go awry. These moments are inevitable. Train yourself through purposeful practice to regain these moments, restore your flow, and once again release time. Through this, you can continue bringing good into the world. This was taught to me by my mentor, Dr. Julius Sumner, who I owe my career to for this lesson, and something I ask for you to consider.
These three themes are only examples of how one might bring good into the world. One of my favorite Dr. D stories I encountered came from Dr. John Hermanson, who noted that Dr. D had to stop others from shaving their heads, wearing overalls, and arriving school at 2:00 AM just in an effort to be just like him. Your charge was to bring good into the world. But don't do it by trying to be like Dr. D. Don't do it by trying to be like me. Maybe consider doing it by trying to be like Dr. McDaniel. But most importantly, do it by being yourselves. I am hopeful you share with me in the future how you brought good into the world.
As we come to the close, this is the most difficult time of year for me, and this year is going to hurt most of all. For the past several years, I have gotten to know each and every one of you. And then, in a split second, you will all be gone. And I am left with only your picture in the hallway. Even worse is that life is expected to go on as normal, and it hurts that it does, an example being that somehow the CUHA is fully operational right now, despite all of you sitting right here.
I didn't mention the ending to my story. Fast forwarding through my raging iced tea addiction and my mid-life and probably now quarter-life crisis, I found my spark in you. Your classes continually humbled me. Your class has been my community. Your class has kept me in the moment. And while life goes on as you leave, my memories of you will be immortal. And so my final words to you before we leave are as follows-- thank you. Thank you for being my spark. Thank you for being my purpose. And thank you for letting me be just a small chapter within your lives.
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: Thank you for those wonderful remarks and life lessons and congratulations, Dr. Lopez, for the receiving the Dr. de Lahunta Teaching Award.
Now I'd like to invite associate Dean Jodi Korich to come to the podium to for student awards. So Dr. Korich.
JODI KORICH: The Horace H. White prize-- an endowment for this prize was originally given by Mr. Horace KH and, later, his sons from Syracuse, New York, for the student with the highest record during the veterinary training. This award, originally called the President's Prize, dates back to 1873 and is probably the longest-standing prize at Cornell. The original donor was a brother to Andrew Dickson White, the president of the university. This year's recipient is Samantha Marie Lee.
[APPLAUSE]
The Malcolm E. Miller Award-- in 1965, Ms. Mary Wells Miller Ewing established this award in memory of her husband, Dr. Malcolm E. Miller, class of 1934, a former professor of anatomy and the head of the department from 1947 to 1960. This award goes to a fourth-year student who, in the judgment of the dean, has demonstrated perseverance, scholastic diligence, and other personal characteristics that will bring credit and contradistinction to the veterinary profession. The recipient is Peyton Victoria Atkins.
[APPLAUSE]
The Leonard Pearson veterinary prize. This award, endowed in 1993, is for the fourth-year student who most successfully demonstrates the potential for professional and/or academic leadership in veterinary medicine. The recipient is Samantha Seiss.
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: Thank you and congratulations to each of you for those prestigious awards. So we'll next invite Associate Dean Meg Thompson, who's the director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, and she'll come to the podium to recognize our interns and residents who are completing their programs this year, and wonderful to have them as part of the ceremony, and especially to thank them for all their work on behalf of their clients, referring veterinarians, and the students. So Dr. Thompson.
MEG THOMPSON: So first, I want to congratulate the class of 2020 for a great class, very well-loved, And we're going to miss you. So each year, in an addition to our wonderful DVM students, we have around 30 post-DVM trainees that are completing their internship or specialty residency. Along with the students, they are vital members of our hospital patient care teams. The residents spend three years with us, learning specialties that you'll hear range from ophthalmology to large animal surgery to anesthesiology. As part of today's ceremony, I am honored to present residency completion certificates to five of our finishing group.
First, Cheyenne Cannarozzo.
[APPLAUSE]
Cheyenne is actually an alum of Cornell. She is finishing her anesthesiology and pain medicine residency, and she will become the attending anesthesiologist at Upstate Veterinary Specialists following her residency.
Next, we have Dr. Chris Champion. Dr. Champion is a anatomic pathology resident. He graduated from the School of Veterinary Science at Massey University in New Zealand in 2019 with distinction. Following his residency, he's staying with us to complete a dermal pathology fellowship.
[APPLAUSE]
Next, we have Dr. Kelly Chen.
[APPLAUSE]
Dr. Chen is another anesthesiology and pain management resident. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 2020, and she will become an anesthesiologist at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle following her residency.
[APPLAUSE]
Next is Dr. Danica Lucyshyn.
[APPLAUSE]
Dr. Lucyshyn is an ophthalmology resident who graduated from Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan, and she will become an ophthalmologist at the Coastal Care Veterinary Emergency referral hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
[APPLAUSE]
Last but not least, Dr. Garrett Pearson.
[APPLAUSE]
Dr. Pearson, our large animal surgery resident, graduated from Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island in 2018 with honors. He will be pursuing additional specialty training as a fellow in large animal emergency and critical care at University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.
[APPLAUSE]
I'd like to thank this wonderful group on stage, but I'd also love for us to give round of applause to all those that are back in the hospital, keeping the hospital running. And there is a list of everybody else. So thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
LORIN WARNICK: Thank you, Dr. Thompson. So as we come to the close of our program today, I know that all of our students would agree that their path to reach this point in their education, become doctors of veterinary medicine, was not done alone, and that much of the credit goes to all of you who are here supporting them today. So I just want to give the class a chance to applaud all their family and friends here and show your appreciation.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you. And I'll now invite the faculty on the stage and invite everyone in attendance to join in singing the Alma Mater. And that's in your programs. After the Alma Mater, we'll leave the stage, and we will ask the class to assemble on the steps of Bailey Hall for a photo. And if I could ask the audience to stay seated for about five minutes after the class has exited the building to allow for that photograph, that would be wonderful. And then everyone is invited up to the College of Veterinary Medicine, just up Tower Road, to Takoda's Run Atrium and for a reception after this event. And then we hope to see many of you again tomorrow for the commencement ceremony in Chulkov Stadium. So thank you very much for being with us. Just such a pleasure to have you. And now the Alma mater. Thank you.
[FAR ABOVE CAYUGA'S WATERS]
ALL: (SINGING) Far above Cayuga's waters
With its waves of blue
Stands our noble Alma Mater
Glorious to view
Lift the chorus
Speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Maer
Hail, all hail Cornell
Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town
Reared against the arch of heaven
Looks she proudly down.
Lift the chorus
Speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Hail, all hail Cornell
[APPLAUSE]
