Last week, the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated hooding and graduation for its degree programs, a meaningful milestone for students that recognized the successful completion of their studies at Cornell.

Celebrating the newest generation of veterinarians

The college’s D.V.M. Class of 2024 gathered at Bailey Hall for their hooding ceremony, where family, friends, faculty and staff looked on as Lorin D. Warnick, D.V.M., Ph.D.’94, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine, congratulated the graduating class, noting how their newly acquired degree opens up a world of opportunities for them.

“The veterinary degree prepares and qualifies you for many different career paths and allows flexibility for those who want to seek new opportunities later,” he said. “As you 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 you will have on the health of animals, people and their communities.” 

Dr. Lauren Kleine, president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. led the graduates in taking the Veterinarian’s Oath, after which, each member of the Class of 2024 was then individually welcomed to the stage by Jai Sweet, Ph.D.’96, assistant dean for veterinary student services and admissions, to receive their ceremonial hoods from Warnick.

Daniel Lopez, D.V.M.’16, assistant professor of small animal medicine and 2024 recipient of the Alexander de Lahunta teaching award, next addressed the class. “You are going to need to find your spark,” he said. “My charge to the Class of 2024 is to consider your spark as being simple as this. Be someone who brings good into the world.”

Following Lopez’s speech, associate dean for education Jodi Korich D.V.M.’97 presented the following awards to student recipients:

• The Horace H. White Prize, given to the student with the highest record during the veterinary training, to Samantha Marie Lee
• The Malcolm E. Miller Award, awarded to a fourth year student who in the judgement of the dean, demonstrated perseverance, scholastic diligence and other personal characteristics that will bring credit and distinction to the veterinary profession, to Peyton Victoria Atkins
• Leonard Pearson Veterinary Prize, awarded to a fourth year student who most successfully demonstrates the potential for professional and or academic leadership in veterinary medicine, to Samantha Siess.

Next, Dr. Meg Thompson, associate dean of hospital operations and director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals recognized the interns and residents who had completed their training at the hospital that year. 

In closing, Warnick took the stage one last time to give the graduating class an opportunity to applaud their family and friends in the audience for all the support they received during their veterinary education.

Honoring the college’s Ph.D. graduates

On the preceding Wednesday, the college recognized its Ph.D. students who had completed their training in the Biomedical and Biological Sciences graduate program, including those that had their degrees conferred in December of 2023, and those that will have theirs conferred in August of 2024. The celebration also recognized three graduates of the Cornell combined D.VM.-Ph.D. degree program pathway, Kristina Ceres, Seth Lieberman and Eileen Troconis-Gonzalez, who all completed both the D.V.M. and Ph.D. portions of their training.

Dr. Paula Cohen, associate dean for research and graduate education congratulated the graduates, and recognized key awards and fellowships granted to current graduate students, including:

• The Boehringer Ingelheim Research Award for Graduate Veterinarians, to Richard Adeleke, member of Dr. Hector Aguilar-Carreno’s lab group.
• The 2024 Longevity Biotech Fellows by the Foresight Institute, to Herbert Fountain, member of Dr. Shaoyi Jiang’s lab group
• The NSF GRFP 2024 Honorable mention, to Brandon James, member of Dr. Meng Wang’s lab group.
• The NSF GFRP 2024, to Mohammad Tavallaei, member of Dr. Tudorita Tumbar’s lab group
• The People’s Choice Award, Cornell’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition 202_, to: Sharada Gopal, member of Dr. Sylvia Lee’s lab group

Cornell Public Health celebrates its sixth graduating class

Cornell Public Health also celebrated its 49 graduating Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) students, who gathered with faculty, friends and family at CVM to mark the completion of their degree as just the sixth graduating class of the relatively new program.

After receiving congratulations from Warnick, the class was addressed next by Dr. Alexander Travis, director of the Cornell Public Health Program. “The world truly needs you,” he told the graduates. “Whether you’re working with a small group of people in a very small town, or working on a national or international stage, you have trained to be agents of change so that you can address the most pressing challenges of our time.”

Danielle Buttke D.V.M.’09, Ph.D.’10, one health coordinator for the National Park Service, gave the keynote address, telling the new graduates, “Being a public health professional is about asking what is needed to make the world better, and then finding a way to go out and do that thing.”

Dr. Gen Meredith, associate director of the Cornell Public Health Program, then presented the annual SEE awards, peer-nominated recognition for the students that best exemplify the three pillars of the program: sustainability, equity and engagement. This year’s recipients were Yunman Gu, Hannah Morris, Avery Sirwatka and Neeti Patel. She also announced the winner of the program’s Writing Achievement Award to Michelle Addae-Kumi.

Finally, all the college’s graduating students gathered with those from across all of Cornell at the fittingly grand and celebratory commencement celebration at Schoellkopf Field on May 25, where President Martha Pollack charged  the more than 8,000 graduating students to stand up, reflect upon the people who helped them along on their way to graduation and, with gratitude and at the count of three, to shout “thank you.”

-Written by Lauren Cahoon Roberts