School of Health Professions holds 2015 Commencement ceremony
By Lin Lofley
More than 100 graduating students from the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions took part in the annual Winter Commencement exercises, held Dec. 13 in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium.
Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center, conferred degrees to the graduates, all of whom finished their studies in 2015.
Dr. Jon Williamson, Dean of the School of Health Professions, presided over the event, his first Commencement as leader of the school.
Kim Hoggatt Krumwiede, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the School of Health Professions, provided program descriptions and was joined by alumna Pauline Weatherford, who offered the Opening Words and concluded the ceremony with the Charge to the Graduates.
Dr. J. Gregory Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School, delivered the Commencement address, welcoming the graduates into their various health professions.
In his talk, Dr. Fitz told the audience that Texas has a continuing need for health care professionals.
“There are 25 counties in Texas that have no doctors at all,” he said. “Right now, doctors outnumber physician assistants by somewhere around 10 to 1. If you think about how we provide health care in the future, that’s a number that probably ought to be flipped.”
He urged the graduates to approach their careers with CLASS, a term borrowed from faculty members Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, who won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Brown, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine, and Dr. Goldstein, Chairman of Molecular Genetics, have longed used that acronym – Compassion, Learning, Astuteness, Skill, and Science – as the roadmap to becoming an outstanding health care provider.
“Take these attributes from Drs. Brown and Goldstein,” Dr. Fitz said, “and think about issues such as the team approach, and quality and technology, and prevention, and I think you’ve got something.”
Marshals for the event were Lona Sandon, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition, and Dr. Jason A. Zafereo, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, and of Orthopedic Surgery.
2015 Graduates of UT Southwestern School of Health Professions
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Jill Alexander
Katelyn Elizabeth Bartell
Allison Marie Blassingame
Hannah Katherine Brown
Clinton Robert Buol (degree awarded May 2015)
Cullen Rodriguez Capili
Dustin Sinclair Corbett
Natalie Marie Crain
Michelle Marler Marie Dubret
Lindsey Dyer
Heather Christine Fariss
Michelle Lynne Flatt
Ashley Elizabeth Fox
Blessy Francis
Sara Keylie Franks
Clayton Fredrickson
Alesia Souder Geeslin
Dustin Paul Haley
Allyson Hunter
Coleman Kamp
Melody Gayle Minor
Jessica Melanie Novak
Tin Trung Phan
Tara Michelle Poole
Elizabeth Linae Reed
Catherine Elizabeth Robidou
Lauren Jeannine Runke
Justin Thomas Saliga
Julie Elizabeth Schilb
Anna Lucia Signorelli
Jessica Suzanne Sims
Megan Renee Sturton
Madeline Elizabeth Taylor
Samantha Nicole Walsh
Jenna Marie Yeager
Jessica Mae Yeager
Master of Clinical Nutrition
Skritikaa Agnani
Aya Sherif Embabi
Griselda Falcon
Zohra Gokal
Michelle Conomos Hamilton
Shelli Zimmerman Hardy
Elizabeth Jones
Estefania Lopez
Max Simon Lowenstein
Lilian Chisom Nwora
Udoka Omenukor
Samantha An Presicci
Whitney Rose-Marie Reichlin
Carol Reyes
Jennifer Tou
Jennifer Kathryn Van Zant
Bailey Weiner
Degree awarded December 2015: Michaelann Carte
Master of Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling
Ian Christopher Abrams
Juan Jose Camacho
Matthieu Jean Chansard
Mary McCormick Danko
Victoria Nicole Dean
Brooke Gomez
Candice Komachi
Alyse Nichole Matlock
Jacquelyn Deanne Matney
Tahnae R’shelle Tarkenton
Lacy Kay Warrington
Victoria Allison Weaver
Master of Physician Assistant Studies
Summer Nadia Abubaker
Morris Duane Allred Jr.
Caitlin Elizabeth Baran
Shauna Ashley Bonfoey
Jessica Ann Brown
Kelcee Cameron
Heather Ann Campos
Morgan Nicole Carroll
Carolina Carvajal
Lauren Cunningham
Margaret Elizabeth Daume
Gabriela Cristina Fajardo
Michael James Fanning
Marisa Francois
Bethany Marie Gardner
Laura Iturbe Garza
Kaylynn Joelle Gerth
Paige Miller Herlihy
Kourtney E. Holbrook
Jordan Hughey
Kathryn Sims Jester
Michelle Christine Jordan
Katrina Joan Mary Keirsted
Rebecca Ann Logan
Victoria Alexandra Meraz
Angela Miles
Keri Miller
Jessika Leigh Monroe
Kelley Nicole Mulfinger
Cloyce Nelson
Cynthia Eronmwon Noble
Ifeatu Okafor
Samantha Anne Overton
Thy N. Pham
Samuel Landis Pittman
Megan Rasmussen-Bollner
Kiona Mercedez Singletary
Monica Rae Traylor
Whitney Darshea Tucker
Tiffany Renee Webb
Beverly Catherine Weickgenant
Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics
Ian Burford
Daniel Jeremiah Concannon
Nicole Cook
April Lynn Everatt
Abigail Catherine Genet
Derek Steven Inserra
Elizabeth Joan Isensee
McKenzie Kemp
Kristiana Rhae Kiessling
Vincent Lau
Natalie Marie Lenners
Blakely Jordan Marsh
Andrew Clark Nash
Rachel Ann Thurman
Michael Winters
Alpha Eta Honor Society (2015 inductees)
Caitlin Elizabeth Baran
Katelyn Elizabeth Bartell
Morgan Nicole Carroll
Addie Clinesmith
Daniel Jeremiah Concannon
Lauren Cunningham
Michelle Marler
Marie Dubret
Lindsey Dyer
Aya Sherif Embabi
Gabriela Cristina Fajardo
Heather Christine Fajiss
Kaylynn Joelle Gerth
Shelli Zimmerman Hardy
Elizabeth Joan Isensee
Kathryn Sims Jester
Hannah Margaret Keen
Natalie Marie Lenners
Rebecca Ann Logan
Kelley Nicole Mulfinger
Anna Lucia Signorelli
Jennifer Tou
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Dr. Brown, a Regental Professor, holds the W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.
Dr. Fitz holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science, and the Atticus James Gill, M.D., Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Goldstein, a Regental Professor, holds the Julie and Luis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research, the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery Jr., M.D., Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.