Message from the President

It is my honor to welcome you to Midwestern University’s virtual commencement ceremony. This past year has shown us the resilience of our students, faculty, and staff at Midwestern University. We have all worked together to respond to new challenges with resilience, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. The circumstances that prevent us from being together in person for this milestone in your lives have also given us all a renewed conviction of your critical role in the future of healthcare. As you go forward from this day, you already have immediate confirmation of how vital you are and will be to the well-being of others.

Today, we come together as a Midwestern University family to celebrate the academic accomplishments of our extraordinary students. Our commencements have always focused on our graduates while acknowledging the faculty, loved ones, and supporters who helped them reach this important milestone. I personally thank every graduate for being a member of the Midwestern University academic community and entrusting us with their dreams.

While you were studying at Midwestern, many of you celebrated additions to your families through marriage and engagement, along with babies – human and “fur” babies. Those joys were tempered by sadness – some of you lost loved ones over the four years you have studied here. I hope that you will cherish the memories of their kindnesses, love, and support through your education, and that those memories will encourage you to return those kindnesses to your patients and communities.

The Class of 2021 is a remarkable one. You overcame the challenges of a global pandemic to exemplify high standards of excellence. You were recognized for your professionalism, for your research, and for achieving your student goals. The challenges you faced in your education and your personal lives have created a special bond between each of you as classmates. As you go out to begin your careers, keep that passion for excellence as a motivator for your success and the well-being of your patients.

Even in these days of social distancing and lockdowns, your class found ways to serve the community. Class members volunteered at the Health Outreach through Medicine and Education (H.O.M.E.) program, with wildlife organizations and the Arizona Game and Fish department, and at community events on campus and around the Valley. Many of you also volunteered for the Mobile Clinic, taking shelter medicine services to rural areas that needed your help – especially during the pandemic, when rural services were already stretched to their limits. You have all set a wonderful example for our University community, and we urge you to continue to do so as you transition to your professional lives.

For those of you entering the military, we are tremendously proud that you will represent the University as you stand for our nation. 

Some of you will be staying in Arizona to practice. The rest will be going out across the nation and the world to practice your craft. Wherever you go, we know that you will represent Midwestern University and your College well, and that the lessons you learned over your years of study will help you become the best version of yourselves, personally and professionally.

Please join me in celebrating our graduates and know that they leave Midwestern University with the full love and support of their faculty and staff. We are so proud of each and every one of our graduates who will soon join the team of healthcare heroes caring for our nation. Thank you for letting Midwestern University be a part of your journey.