(Music Playing) Good evening.

You may please be seated.

I'm Joyce Dejong dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine here at Michigan State University.

And it is my pleasure to welcome you to this extraordinary day of celebration.

Before we begin this wonderful event, I'd like to recognize a few distinguished guests whose presence really reflect the importance of this occasion.

We are very honored to have Trustee Rebecc Baher-Cook with us this evening.

Thank you for joining.

Your presence really means a great deal to our college.

We're also pleased to welcome a guest, doctor Mark Smith, the chief medical officer of MSU Health Care.

We have Doctor Kevin Byer right there, who is the, immediate past president by about three days of the Michiga Osteopathic Associate session.

So standing in for and thank you for being here.

And finally, we're very thrilled to welcome Doctor Robert Piccinini.

He is the president of th American Osteopathic Association and a proud alum of Michigan State University' College of Osteopathic Medicine.

So pleas welcome our guests to the stage.

Together, we gather to honor the hard work, perseverance, and dedication that have brought our graduates to this moment.

Michigan State University is aptly described by our president, Guskiewicz as Michigan's state university.

This is because, as a land grant institution, we are deeply committed to serving our state while also making an impact across the world.

I'm really proud to share that today's graduates matched into 29 different specialties, and 72% will remain here in Michigan.

Something to celebrate.

Let me add that we are equally proud of those who are taking their training to communities across the country.

You're cross-pollinating.

You're going all over the world.

And so, graduates, wherever your path leads, carry MSU, come with you with pride, with purpose and with a commitment to serve.

I want to briefly say many of you have heard about the upcoming unification of the College of Osteopathic Medicine i the College of Human Medicine.

I don't want to take the focu away from today's celebration, but I want to take a moment t be clear about what this means.

Michigan State University will continue to graduate osteopathic physicians this day will continue on the work we do preparing healthcare leaders and advance osteopathic medicine.

It is essential to the health of Michigan and communities around the world.

That is who we are.

That is our mission.

And that will not change.

Briefly, to the families and friends who have supported our graduates.

This moment belongs to you as well.

Your encouragement and your sacrifice have made this journey possible.

And to our extraordinary faculty and our staff, your mentorship, your guidance and your unwavering dedication have shaped this next generation of osteopathic physicians.

We are deeply grateful for all that you do.

Graduates, very soo you're going to walk into rooms and people will see you differently, not as a student, but as the doctor.

They will look to you for answers, for direction and for reassurance.

And in those moments, something shifts.

You've been trained to care for people, to step in, to lead, to do what needs to be done.

And you are ready to do that well.

But there's something else I want you to remember.

You probably won't remember any of this from today but but I'm going to tell you, and I also want to tell your families, you cannot take care of others if you don't take care of yourself.

Residency is hard.

This work will ask a lot of you.

So pay attention to yourself, families and friends.

Pay attention to them.

They need to know when to step bac so you can step forward again.

That's not weakness.

That's how you last.

Because the kind of physician people need is not just competent.

They need someone who i present, who is steady, who is human.

So as you go forward, take care of your patients.

Take care of each other.

And don't forget you ar one of the people that matters.

So please take care of yoursel as you head out into the world class.

Yes.

Class of 2026.

You are ready.

And there's no stopping you now.

It's now my honor to introduce the president of the class of 2026.

Evan Schumacher has served as a voice for his classmates over the past four years, demonstrating leadership, dedication, and a deep commitmen to our osteopathic profession.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Evan.

Thank you.

Dean Dejong.

I first like to star by welcoming and acknowledging Trustee Bahar-Cook, Doctor Smith, Doctor Byer,.

Doctor.

Piccinini.

Dean Dejong faculty, staff, alumni, mentors, parents, families, and of course, the graduates to the class of 2026.

For those who have not had the opportunity to meet.

My name is Evan Schumacher, and I've had the honor and privilege of serving as a class president for the past four years.

Today w come to celebrate a milestone.

The transition from student to the responsibilities of a career in medicine.

But today, we are more than physicians.

We become osteopathic physicians.

We have an additional responsibility to live out the osteopathic tenants.

To treat each person as a uni of mighty body, mind and spirit.

To trust in the body's abilities of self-regulation and self-healing.

To understand how structure and function are interrelated.

And to let those practices and practices and principles guide the care we provide.

For some, getting to this day once seemed impossible.

But you see, those past challenges are what makes today's achievements uniquely rewarding and allow you to deepen you connection with your patients.

They built discipline when motivation faded.

Resilience when outcomes were uncertain.

And confidence not from ease, but from endurance.

What's important is that challenges were not barriers to your becoming.

They were the tools that shaped you into the physician.

You will be.

In addition to the challenges we faced, each of us carries a unique story of purpose that brought us to this day.

When we began this journey four years ago, my purpose centered on addressing health disparities in the cost of health care.

Shaped largely by my undergraduate background in the business side of medicine.

But these years have unfolded.

My purpose, like that of many of yours, has evolved.

During my third year, I lost my mother from a young age.

She had introduced me t the business side of medicine, the administrative strategy, operational management and financial decision that shape how care is delivered long before the patient ever walks into the hospital.

But through her own battles, she showed me something far more personal.

The day to day reality of being a patient.

The vulnerability.

The waiting.

The uncertainty.

Throughout that journey my father showed me another side of medicine entirely.

For months, he sat at our bedside, offering unwavering support.

He showed me what it means t love someone through suffering and the extraordinary strength of families.

In a hospital room.

It was through both of my parents examples that I came to understand why I stand here today.

We're not only caring for the patient, but for the family who waits, worries and hopes alongside of them.

My purpose became simple to practice medicine not just as a science, but as an expression of humanity.

Guided by the love, presence and care I witnessed in my parents.

Each of us has had someone on the other en of those late night phone calls offering words of encouragement after difficult exams, making financial sacrifices, or simply believing in us when we doubted ourselves.

It truly takes a village to turn a medical, or to turn undergraduate into a medical student and a medical student into a resident.

Too often the suppor of our village goes on, thanked as I call ou your role in the graduate story.

Please stand and remain standing if you are able and hold applause until the end.

Spouses, significant others and children.

Parents.

Grandparents.

Siblings.

Extended family and friends.

MSU COM.

Faculty and staff.

Mentors.

Active and retired military.

And let's remember all of those who couldn't be here with us today.

Class of 2026, I want you to look around and see your village.

Today reminds us that medicine is not just about the person in the white coat.

It's about the community that stands behind it.

Let's take a moment to truly acknowledge these incredible people.

Let's honor them with a war round of applause and a sincere thank you.

You may be seated now.

I would also like to recognize members of the class government executive board.

These individuals worked on behalf of our class advocating for student concerns, offering feedback, creating opportunities that strengthen the student connection, an organizing large scale events.

Much of their work happened behind the scenes and often without recognition.

Yet their commitment has shaped the experience of our class.

On behalf of the class of 2026 thank you for your leadership, your dedication, and the time you've invested over the last four years.

Please stand.

Before we continue, I want to acknowledge someone who will always hold a special place within the class of 2026.

Joey mariachi, who's up there on the top deck?

Joey mariachi.

He's experienced an extraordinary journey.

Ten years ago, he received an L-VAD or mechanical pump that helps your heart circulate blood.

Then on November 18th, 2025, in a moment of irony for one of the most devoted University of Michigan fans I know, he received a call that a donor heart would become available.

And we would be.

And we were playing cards and watching, of course, and MSU basketball game.

Following that phone call he underwent a heart transplant and continues to be an example of resilience, courage and perseverance.

We've talked about the dream, the challenges, and the village that carried us here.

But what comes next?

Although thi chapter of our story is ending, it's really the beginning of building a legacy.

Legacy is no what we achieve for ourselves, but what remains and others because we are present.

It's not measured in titles or awards, but in trust.

Earned compassion shown, and the difference made in moments when patients need us most.

Some legacies change the world.

Others change a single life at the right moment.

Both matter as we move forwar and strive always to be better, to do better, and to fully show u for those who need you the most.

Each day, write down a story.

The difference you made in a patient's life, or the lesson a patient shared with you.

Watch how these small acts add up over time.

Shaping not just the physician you become, but the legacy you leave behind.

I want to leave you with one last message.

On the first day of orientation to MSU COM.

Doctor Ruger made us write future letters to ourselves.

And I'll admit, like many of you at that time, I was tired, overwhelmed, an maybe a little overstimulated.

So my letter may have lacked luster, but looking back here's what I would have said.

You've made it.

Take a second.

Let that sink in.

The long night.

Studying bacteria and antibiotics.

Torturing your sleep for far too long.

The never ending night call shifts or the patient cases you'll never forget.

I'm excited, but I'm also unsure.

I wonder if I'll be technically skilled enough, decisive enough, compassionate enough.

I hope your hands become stead as you understand your purpose in what you're doing.

I hope you learned that medicine isn't just about knowing the right next step in a procedure, or the second line drug class.

It's about showing up full for the person in front of you.

There will be moments when you question whether you're good enough.

Remember, skil without empathy is incomplete.

The goal is never just to finish.

It was to grow.

I hope you're prou as you walk across that stage.

Remember this version of yourself.

Hopeful.

Determined.

A little nervous, but fully committed.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be your leader the past four years.

Congratulations, doctors.

Thank you.

Evan.

It's now my honor to introduce our keynote speaker.

As I mentioned earlier, Doctor Piccinini is a proud alum of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and currently serves as the president of the American Osteopathic Association.

He has dedicated his career to advancing our profession, advocating for physicians, and strengthening the impact of osteopathic medicine across the country.

He's also a strong supporter of our college, having established multiple scholarships in honor of his family.

We're especially proud to welcome him back to MSU CEO, for this important moment.

Please join me in welcoming Doctor Piccinini.

Dean Dejong, Trustee Bahar-Cook, faculty, families, and mos importantly, the class of 2026.

It is an extraordinary honor to stand before you today, knowing that I'm standing between you and the conference of your degree.

I promise to keep my comments very brief.

Standing here today feels like coming home.

I walked across this campus as a student and sit where you sit now.

I graduated from this college in 1992.

Full of hope.

A little fear, okay?

A lot of fear.

And absolutely no idea how unpredictable and profoundly meaningful this journey would become.

Today I want to share not just advice, but a story.

And like all good stories, it has a hero.

That hero is you.

Every great story begins with somebody who wants something.

You wanted to become an osteopathic physician not just to earn a title, but to make a difference.

And along the way, yo discovered something important.

Wanting is one thing.

Surviving it is another.

You faced exhaustion, self-doubt, moments of when you wondere if you were cut this or make it as you now stand on the edge of your career.

A new challenge appears.

How do you build a career in medicine that is clinically excellent, ethically grounded, and emotionally sustainable?

In a system that often pushes speed over connection and volume over values?

This is the real problem that every new physician faces and must solve.

But in every great story, the hero meets a guide for you.

That guide has been many people.

Professors who pushed you harder than you thought you possible preceptors.

Who showed you how medicine really works?

Patients who taught you lessons no textbook ever could.

And today I stand here as a guide to not above you, but ahead of you.

Simply to say the road ahead you're about to walk is hard.

But it is so very worth it.

This profession reminds us tha medicine is not transactional.

It's about relationships.

This profession reminds us that medicine is not just about organs.

It's about people.

It's not about data, but about dignity.

Medicine is a team sport.

No matter how independent we pretend to be.

And for all of us who cam through this great university, there is one other guide we share.

Osteopathic medicine itself.

The American Osteopathic Association is the embodiment of the osteopathic medicine.

It's your advocate when policies change, your defender when medicine gets complicated, and your community when this work feels heavy.

But guides don't just inspire.

They give a plan.

So here is a simple one that you can carry into every clinic every hospital, every community.

And it comes with three commitments.

See, the whole person, not just the diagnosis, but the story behind it.

Protect your humanity.

Burnout is not a personal failure.

Failure.

It's a system problem.

And it requires courageous boundaries.

Stand up for something bigger than yourself.

Leadership doesn't require a title.

It requires courage to advocate for patients, for your colleagues, and for your profession.

With that, you now represent.

Today is your call to action.

I know you just want to graduate, but don't kid yourself.

Every degree comes with a call to action.

It's not just the practice of osteopathic medicine, but it is to lead.

Osteopathic medicine.

Lead in the exam rooms.

Lead in the boardroom and lead in communities that deserve to heal and need your voice.

The world does not need more physician who simply get through the day.

It needs osteopathic physicians who show up with purpose in every great story.

There are, of course, risks.

If you forget why you started.

If you let cynicism replace compassion, if you're sacrifice your values for convenience, you may still have a career, but you will miss the deeper purpose of this calling and our profession.

Our patients can't afford that loss.

But imagine the alternative.

Imagine a caree where your patients feel seen, your colleagues feel supported, and you go home tired but proud.

Imagine being in the osteopathic physicians.

Younger students point to and say, that's who I want to be.

Imagine knowing that you just don't earn a degree.

You strengthen a profession that is success, not measured only in titles or income, but in impact.

Today you cross a threshold.

You are no longer students of osteopathic medicine.

You are steward of the osteopathic profession.

Just as this college shaped you.

You will now shape what osteopathic medicine becomes next.

When I graduated in 1992, I could never have imagined where this path would lead.

Serving patients, serving our profession, and eventually standing before you.

Today.

And that's the beauty of this moment.

Your story is only beginning.

Class of 2026.

The world is waiting for you.

Be the osteopathic physician who listens when it's easier to rush.

Be the leaders who stan when it's easier to stay silent.

Be the healers who never forget that every patient is somebody's whole world.

Congratulations and welcome to the greatest story you will ever tell your own.

I can't wait to see the chapters you write.

Thank you.

Thank you, Docto Piccinini, for your leadership and for sharing your perspective with our graduates.

We now turn to a tradition that signifies our graduates official entry into the medical profession.

The hooding ceremony.

This time honored moment marks the moment from student to physician, and reflects years of rigorous study and the responsibility our graduates now carry.

We are pleased to have Jody Knol and Doctor Linda Kernohan of WKAR radio with us this evening to announce our graduates.

(Conferral of Degrees, Graduate Names and Hooding) Next, we recognize graduates who are earning dual degrees today an extraordinary accomplishment that reflects exceptional dedication and perseverance.

This year, we are especially proud to celebrate those who are earning both a degree in osteopathic medicine and a PhD.

As Michigan State University has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a medical scientist training program.

The first college of osteopathic medicine to receive this designation in the 62 year history of the MSTP Award.

(Conferral of Degrees, Graduate Names and Hooding) We'll give everyone a second to get settled here.

What a day, Wow.

This is something just.

And, graduates, this is the moment you've been waiting for on behalf of the president of Michigan State University.

And by the authority of the Board of Trustees, I confer upon you the degree for which you have been recommended with all the right honors and distinctions pertaining thereto.

You may now move your tassels from right to left.

Congratulations, doctors.

You are now alumni of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and go Green.

All right.

I now ask the vice president of the class of 2026, Doctors Girjis, Oliviero, and Pfannes to come forward and lead their peers in the Osteopathic Oath.

They've already been administered the oath, and they may now administer it to the to their class.

All right, everyone, please raise your right hands and follow after us or speak with us.

Please rise us.

This and you can stand.

Oh, all DOs please stand as well.

And you can find this out in the back of your, commencement form.

Okay, let's give everyone a second here.

Okay?

All right, all right, everybody, raise your right hand.

And we'll all say it together.

I do hereby affirm my loyalty to the profession I am about to enter.

I will be mindful always of my great responsibility to preserve the health and the life of my patients, to retain their confidenc and respect both as a physician and a friend who will guard their secrets with scrupulous honor and fidelity to perform faithfully my professional duties, to employ only those recognize methods of treatment consistent with with good judgment and with my skill and ability.

Keeping in mind always nature's laws and the body's inherent capacity for recovery, I will be ever vigilan in aiding in the general welfare of the community, sustaining its laws and institutions, not engaging in those practices which will in any way bring shame or discredit upon myself or my profession.

I will give no drugs for deadly purposes to any person, though it be asked of me.

I will endeavor to work in accord with my colleagues and in a spirit of progressive cooperation, and never by word or by act, casts imputations upon them or their rightful practices.

I will look with respect and esteem upon all those who have taught me my art to my college.

I will be loyal and strive always for its best interests and for the interests of the students who will come after me.

I will be ever alert to further the application of basic biologic truths to the healing arts, and to both the principles of osteopathy, which were first enunciated by Andrew Taylor Still.

Congratulations.

Congrats!

Wow, what a day!

Earlier today, graduates receiving awards were honored at a special banquet.

Their names are displayed on the screen, and we ask that the please stand so we may recognize their accomplishments.

Thank you.

You may be seated.

Class of 2026.

You have done the work.

You are ready.

And if you're the kind of physician people trust, there is no stopping you now.

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time.

I feel alive, and the, I'll turn it inside out here.

I'm floating around in ecstasy.

So don't stop me now.

Don't stop me.

Cause I'm having a good time.

Having a good time.

Cause shooting stars through the sky like a tiger.

With the laws of gravity.

Like a racing car passing by.

Like lady godiva.

I'm gonna go, go, go.

There was no stopping me.

I'm burning through the sky.

Yeah, I did it, breeze.

That's why they call me Doctor Fahrenheit.

I'm traveling at the speed of light.

I'm gonna make the supersonic man out of you.

Don't stop me now.

Having such a good time.

We're having a ball.

Yeah!

Don't stop me now.

I'm having such a good time.

Just give it a pass.

Don't stop me.

It's about the time.

Don't stop me up.

I'm having a good time.

I don't want to stop, but.

Oh, I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars.

Like a super.

I am a satellite.

I'm out of control.

I'm a lean machine.

Ready to explode like an atom bomb about two.

000 I'm burning through the sky.

Yeah, 200 degrees.

That's what they call me.

Doctor Fahrenhei traveling at the speed of light.

I'm gonna make a supersonic woman of you.

Don't stop me, don't stop me.

Just got me.

Don't stop me to stop me.

Oh, no.

Stop me, don't stop me, don't stop me.

Yeah.

Don't stop me to stop me.

Oh.

Running through the sky 200 degrees.

That's why they call it Doctor Fahrenheit.

We're traveling at the speed of light.

I wanna make a supersonic duck out of you.

Don't stop me now.

Having such a good time?

We're having a ball.

Oh, don't stop me now.

You wanna.

You better just give me the ball.

Don't stop me now.

Time.

Don't stop me now.

Have a good time.

I don't wanna stop.

But.

Oh!

Oh.

They want an encore.

Do we have a. Do we have a second?

No, we have one act.

Okay, that was it.

So.

Wow.

Thank you to everyone who, who made that happen.

I especially want to thank Nathan Taikaki.

Nathan, where are you?

Maria, are you Alexandra Davis an your students for choreography?

I gotta tell, you are amazing COM I'm faculty and staff who sing and dance.

That's our gift to you, the graduates.

All right?

And don't let nobody stopping you now.

All right, so one more time.

Congratulations and welcom to the osteopathic profession.

And go green.

(MSU Fight Song)