The College of Pharmacy held its annual Convocation and Hooding Ceremony on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at the Koger Center for the Arts, as 101 student pharmacists were hooded, received their gold alumni pins, and took the Oath of a Pharmacist during the ceremony.
Julie Sease, interim dean of the College of Pharmacy, recalled the large gratitude jar in her office that she discussed with two graduating students – that day provided the inspiration for what she wanted to say to the graduating Class of 2022.
“We wrote down gratitude statements on little cards and threw those into my jar,” she says. “As I was preparing for today, I pulled out those along with several others and read them. The first one was ‘Grateful that I have family and friends that support and love me.’"
"Another said, ‘I am grateful that I have an amazing family and friends and a fiancé who take care of me and want the best for me.’ I even recognized what I wrote – ‘I am grateful for students who wish to learn about me so that my previous experience can help others.’”
When the tough times come and on those hardest of days, take a moment to recall what you are grateful for...
Sease’s advice to the graduating class is to never forget to be grateful.
“When the tough times come and on those hardest of days, take a moment to recall what you are grateful for,” she adds. “Be grateful for family and friends who love you, grateful to be a part of a profession that gets to help people, grateful to be a part of an alumni network that goes back more than 150 years, and grateful for a college that will be here ready to support you should you ever need us.”
Gerald Isreal, (’88), also spoke to the class as the College of Pharmacy 2022-2023 Outstanding Alumni. Isreal recalled his convocation day and remembered the hope, the enthusiasm and even a bit of fear and uncertainty about what the future would bring.
Remember you are an invaluable member of the health care team. You are the expert.
“I realized that my education was just beginning,” he says. “Let the excitement of this day stay with you forever, for there will be some challenging ones ahead. But you are ready for whatever comes. The past few years have been a test for us all, but in all things, give thanks. Remember you are an invaluable member of the health care team. You are the expert.”
Topics: Pharm.D. Program, Alumni Programs, Support the College