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On June 8 at 7 p.m., Maryland University of Integrative Health held the 2015 Commencement. On this day, 258 new healers celebrated their graduation and prepared to enter the world of health and wellness. In total, 178 master’s degrees were conferred and there were 80 graduates of academic certificate programs.
Throughout the evening’s heartfelt speeches, a theme of collaboration emerged. All of our speakers recognized that none of us accomplish our goals alone and that our graduates will practice side by side with many other providers. Wholehearted acknowledgments went out to everyone – the graduates, their families and friends, as well as the MUIH Board of Trustees, faculty, and leadership.
Board of Trustees Chair Adele Wilzack shared how impressed she has been with the courage and enthusiasm of our graduates as they moved through their academic programs at MUIH. She said that, as students were learning from us, we were also learning from them. “You set an example for us by your willingness to show up fully, day after day or weekend after weekend, and virtually. You demonstrated partnership as you picked each other up and pushed each other forward. You taught us about courage as you allowed yourself to be vulnerable, to be a beginner, to struggle, and even to fail.”
President and CEO Frank Vitale focused on the shifting landscape of healthcare and the how the future must be based on collaboration and cooperation. He called on our graduates to be bold practitioners and leaders, urging them to “take part in an emerging alliance to fully connect and to partner for the sake of your patients, clients, and the health and wellbeing of all.”
Student speaker, Jason Bosley-Smith, a new graduate of the Master of Science in Nutrition and Integrative Health, shared a moving speech based on the MUIH foundational principles. He said, “Our work in this world as graduates is to serve a beacon of health and hope to those in need. To be a harbinger of the paradigm shift away from a partition system of disease management and sick care, to one of patient-centered integrative health and wellness. The five foundational principles of MUIH serve as our guiding light in this mission, and fostering and delivering a healing presence is the foundation upon which all the principles are built.” See a video of Jason’s full speech below.
Our 2015 commencement speaker, Aviad Haramati, Ph.D., is a professor of physiology in the departments of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine. His research activities are centered on medical education and rethinking how health professionals are trained. In his commencement address, titled, “Looking Backward, Leaping Forward,”
Dr. Haramati spoke about three characteristics that our graduates must focus on as they begin their healing careers. First is passion for their field and the people they care for. This is what will fuel their continuing learning and carry them through difficulties. Second is humility. No form of medicine has all the answers and when they have humility, our graduates will be open to all possibilities and be willing to turn to their colleagues for help. Third, and most important he said, is self-care. Without this, healing cannot happen for others. See a video of Dr. Haramati’s full speech below.
During his address, Dr. Haramati took the opportunity to announce that MUIH and Georgetown University have just signed a partnership agreement. More information about that partnership will be available soon!
All of us at MUIH are proud of our recent graduates and look forward to watching and supporting their work for many years to come.