The School of Medicine class cheers during Commencement on Alumni Lawn. (photo by Neil Brake)
Graduation 2008: Medical School graduates urged to do good, dream big
Steven Gabbe, M.D., left, presiding over his final graduation as VUSM dean, embraces Harry Jacobson, M.D. (photo by Neil Brake)
VUSM student Josh Nepute gets a lift from classmates while lining up for commencement. (photo by Neil Brake)
Milton Ochieng’ gets ready for his graduation from the School of Medicine. (photo by Neil Brake)
Clay Kaiser, right, received his VUSM diploma from his father, Allen Kaiser, M.D., at the Langford Auditorium ceremony. (photo by Neil Brake)
Steven Gabbe, M.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine dean and avid music fan, delivered his final Commencement address — “Lessons for Life from Bob Seger and the Dean of Rock and Roll” — at last Friday's ceremony in Langford Auditorium.
During Gabbe's speech, 94 graduating medical students tapped their feet or hummed along to such Seger hits as “Against the Wind.”
“As the Dean of Rock and Roll, I thought it would be important to go back to my roots for this address,” Gabbe said. He went on to ask the graduates to consider life lessons from the songs of the legendary rocker, including the anthem to endurance “Like a Rock.”
“I want you to think of that song as you begin your career as a physician,” Gabbe said. “This is your time, this is your moment, and you have prepared yourselves for it.”
The graduates were reminded that throughout their careers, it's important to have fun.
“Old Time Rock & Roll” is a Bob Seger song about fun,” Gabbe said. “You can't think of it and not remember the scene from the 1983 film 'Risky Business' that featured Tom Cruise wearing sunglasses and dancing in his underwear. This is probably the first and only time a commencement address at a medical school will feature the phrase 'Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear.' But it reminds us all to have fun.”
Gabbe offered additional words of wisdom that don't appear in a Seger song: “I remember what my father told me, and I offer this advice to you: Do good and don't complain.”
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Harry Jacobson, M.D., credited faculty members for transforming one of the country's brightest groups of incoming students into “thoughtful and compassionate doctors, scientists with critical and inquisitive minds, and lifelong learners.”
A number of graduates in the Class of 2008 were handed their diploma by a father, mother or spouse on the Vanderbilt faculty.
Brothers Dan and Clay Kaiser received their diploma from their father, Allen Kaiser, M.D., Vanderbilt University Hospital Chief of Staff. “It was a very special moment that I will never forget,” said Clay, who will train at Stanford in cardiothoracic surgery. “I felt such a sense of joy, love, pride and accomplishment.”
“That moment of celebrating four years of hard work and dedication — there is no one else in the world I would rather share it with,” added Dan, who will be a resident in internal medicine at Vanderbilt.
Graduate Erin Carney, a tae kwon do black belt who taught self-defense to fellow students, is excited about her upcoming pathology residency at Johns Hopkins, but will miss the friends she made at VUSM.
“It's an emotional time. I'll be moving away from classmates who have become my close friends,” Carney said. “But I'm thrilled when I think of the opportunities and experiences that await me at Johns Hopkins.”
Denis Foretia came to Vanderbilt from Cameroon. He couldn't afford a hotel room before his admissions interview, so he spent the night in an airport bathroom. Not only was Foretia admitted, he received the Dean's Scholarship, which covers four years of tuition.
“It was the manna from heaven I had been waiting for,” said Foretia, who will be a General Surgery resident at Emory. “I know my family and friends back in Cameroon are very proud of what I've been able to accomplish in this short time.”
Family and friends of graduate Milton Ochieng' watched the ceremony via the Web in their village of Lwala, Kenya. Ochieng' and his brother, Frederick, a second-year medical student, helped build a clinic in their home village. The clinic now serves thousands of Kenyans with no previous access to medical care.
“They huddled around one of our two clinic laptops donated by a former Vanderbilt undergraduate volunteer,” said Ochieng'.
“I hope that many others like myself will be afforded the opportunity to pursue their dreams here at Vanderbilt.”