‘We Celebrate You’: Graduates Look to the Future at MCPHS Winter Commencement

More than 300 graduates gathered at the DCU Center to honor their achievements and embrace the next steps in their healthcare journeys.

The mood was both reflective and celebratory as more than 300 graduates of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) gathered at the DCU Center in Worcester to prepare for a new chapter in their lives. Presided over by President Richard J. Lessard, the Commencement exercises honored graduates from the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene, the School of Medical Imaging and Therapeutics, the School of Nursing, and the School of Physician Assistant Studies in Worcester and Manchester.

After completing a challenging curriculum and spending countless hours on research, internships, and other activities on and off campus, the graduates celebrated reaching this milestone with their families, instructors, and University staff cheering them on.

“In healthcare, we experience both joy and pain. We celebrate victories with our patients, and we are a shoulder to cry on when outcomes aren’t what we hoped for. We persevere and inspire our patients to do the same,” said Cleopatra Lewis, a graduate of the School of Nursing, addressing her classmates as the student speaker for the ceremony.

In her speech, Lewis, a first-generation student, shared some of the challenges she experienced on the way to earning her degree, including losses in her family and the difficulties of balancing work and school. Despite these hurdles, “my struggles shaped me,” she told the crowd.

“Classmates, scholars, graduates: you’ve also faced challenges,” she said. “Maybe you needed an extra semester. Maybe you failed an exam—or even a class or two. But you didn’t give up. You didn’t fail. You took the scenic route, and now you’re here. Today, we celebrate you.”

Alumni speaker Aram Kerr, a 2017 graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography program, emphasized the importance of empathy in healthcare, noting, “we are all human, and we all have a story.”

Now the founder of Echo Imaging Solutions, a diagnostic imaging center in Portland, Maine, Kerr also earned his MBA in Healthcare Management at MCPHS. He urged graduates to look forward with optimism.

“Always stay positive when you feel that the odds are stacked against you. Things will get better,” Kerr said. “Professional experience is great for your resume, but perspective will build your character as a bona fide healthcare professional in the years ahead.”

MCPHS President Lessard offered words of wisdom and encouragement. In his address, he praised the graduates’ dedication and perseverance.