JOHNSON CITY (May 6, 2022) – Sixty-six students completed their medical education and received their Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degrees at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine Commencement ceremony held on Friday, May 6.
The Class of 2022 is Quillen’s 41st graduating class, and 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Quillen’s first graduating class, the Class of 1982.
Dr. William Block, a 1992 alumnus who now serves as ETSU vice president for clinical affairs and dean of Quillen College of Medicine, presided at the ceremony, which was at the Martin Center for the Arts.
“I am extremely proud of the Class of 2022,” Block said. “I have watched them persevere through a pandemic with determination and resilience. They will take these lessons, as well as what they learned in our classrooms, clinics and labs, with them as they leave us for their residencies. They will make us proud.”
The class selected Dr. Blair Reece and Dr. Bryan Helsel to present their doctoral hoods. In addition, 22 students were hooded by a physician relative. Dr. Jason Moore was given the highest honor by students to administer the Hippocratic Oath during the ceremony.
Dr. Reid B. Blackwelder, associate dean of Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Education for Health professionals, was the speaker.
ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland presented the diplomas, and Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, provost and senior vice president for academics, provided closing remarks.
One member of the Class of 2022, Abbigayle Laszacs, was also inducted into the ETSU 1911 Society, which honors the university’s most distinguished graduates who embody ETSU’s original mission of improving the quality of life for the people of this region as exemplified through academic excellence, service and leadership.
“Now that I’m at the end of my four years, I look back with nothing but pride at having chosen Quillen and feeling honored that Quillen chose me,” said Laszacs, who will begin her OB/GYN residency at UCSF Fresno this summer. “Quillen has really prepared me for my future.”
During the Commencement ceremony, the college also presented several student awards.
The culminating awards included the Dean’s Distinguished Student Honor Award, presented to Morgan Howard Whitmire for demonstrating superb clinical skills and the potential for becoming an excellent physician.
Andersen Lea Estes was presented the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, this award is presented to the student, as judged by his or her peers, who consistently demonstrates compassion and empathy in the delivery of care to patients; illustrates professional behavior by example; demonstrates cultural sensitivity in working with patients, family members and colleagues; adheres to professional and ethical standards; pays attention and is sensitive to the patient’s psychological well-being; and displays concern for the general welfare of the community.
Other awards included:
- Internal Medicine Award: Dr. Kristen Alora Ricker
Department of Pediatrics Award: Dr. Andersen Lea Estes
Ann Tranum Hawkins Award for Excellence in Women’s Health: Dr. Abbigayle Laszacs- OB/GYN Award (Dillard M. Sholes Society Award): Dr. Abbigayle Laszacs
- Outstanding Performance Junior Surgical Clerkship Award: Dr. Ryan Serbin
- Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award: Dr. Caitlin Nicholson
Merck and Company, Incorporated Book Award: Dr. Jordan Bryce Newby and Dr. Raymond Cody Winstead- Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Awards: Dr. Kaitlyn Janae McCollum Wise, Dr. Angela Ruth Hacksel-Newmark, and Dr. Morgan Howard Whitmire
The James Christopher Corbin Memorial Award in Psychiatry: Dr. Benjamin Welch
Cowan Moss Family Medicine Award: Dr. Jeanette Cagle Brendle
Philip John Hinton, M.D. Career in Surgery Award: Dr. Taylor Marie Harris
The Ronald S. McCord Rural Family Medicine Award: Dr. Lindsey Merkle Moore- Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians Award: Dr. Lindsey Merkle Moore
Dr. Humera B. Chaudhary Memorial Award: Dr. Bethany Paige Faust
Cheryl L. McLemore, M.D. Memorial Pediatrics Award: Dr. Taylor Renee Lapinski- Henry Clay Reister Award: Dr. Rex Siu
Kevin Swabe Memorial Award: Dr. Sarah Allen Ray- Dr. Jay and Mina Mehta Family Award in Preventive Medicine: Dr. Logan Deyo
- Osler Award: Dr. Nelly Grigorian