On Friday, May 12th, the Class of 2017 was honored with the
conferring of their Doctor of Optometry degree in an exceptional ceremony, held
at the signature facility on the UMSL campus, the beautiful Touhill Performing
Arts Center. This group was aptly named
the “Class of personality” before they even initiated their first day of classes
in August, 2013. They were honored on a beautiful day, very reminiscent of two
years earlier when they were awarded their white coat.
These 42 young doctors were led onto the stage by their
student marshal, as selected by the faculty, Dr. Coral Pucci. The Class of 2017 was awarded many honors,
including several individuals who were notably recognized. This included Dr. Elias Toubia who received
both the Beta Sigma Kappa Silver Medal award for academic distinction and the
M. Earl McClellan Dean’s Award, sponsored by the Missouri Optometric Foundation,
for outstanding scholarship. Dr. Morgan
Poore was awarded the prestigious Missouri Optometric Foundation Award for
Excellence in Clinical Skills in addition to other awards provided by the
Office of Student Services and the contact lens faculty. Dr. Kelsey Haugen was awarded numerous honors
including the most outstanding tutor and teaching assistant award.
The highest honor, however, was awarding of the Doctor of
Optometry degree. Chancellor Thomas
George, with assistance from Dr. Larry Davis, Dean of the College, conferred
the degrees. Master of Ceremonies,
Clinical Associate Professor Dr. Julie DeKinder, read the name of each honoree,
who then crossed the stage and was hooded by Drs. Ed Bennett and Vinita Henry.
The Commencement Speaker was W. Raymond Barrett who is
chairman and founder of Biomedical Systems, a global provider of centralized
diagnostic services with corporate headquarters in St. Louis. A renowned entrepreneur, he is one of only a
handful of individuals in the United States to have built – from scratch – two
highly successful companies in unrelated fields. Among the individuals he has collaborated
with is Professor Carl Bassi from the College of Optometry.
The ceremony concluded with Dr. Scott Ream(’87) representing
both the Missouri Optometric Foundation and all of the College alumni giving a
charge to our new alumni to remember to give back to their alma mater when they
are able to do so. After the
recessional, it was time for photos, both group photos inside and individual
and photos with loved ones outside on a most picturesque day. It was a wonderful ceremony for a very
deserving and beloved class who will be in our hearts forever.
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Dean
Larry Davis with Commencement Speaker, W. Raymond Barrett
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Dean
Larry Davis, Assistant Dean Ed Bennett, and Clinical Professor Vinita Henry
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Two
friends and classmates who are parents of members of the Class of 2017, Dr. JD
Roberts (’88), father of Dr. Mike Roberts, and Dr. Tami Soriano (’88), mother of
Dr. Tori Soriano.
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Assistant Dean Ed Bennett with new graduate Dr. Michael Wilson, and his proud older
brother, Dr. Josh Wilson (’06)
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