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Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, urged the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine Class of 2024 to “be your best selves every day” and always abide by the principle of “health as a human right.”
“You now hold the coveted title of ‘doctor,’” Juthani told the 93 graduates from the lectern at M&T Bank Arena on Friday afternoon. “No matter what your career holds, you will be a listener, a healer, a leader in your family and in your community. When people are suffering, they need to trust someone and they will depend on you. You will have the privilege to hear their most intimate thoughts and console them during their most vulnerable moments. Show compassion, and always honor their humanity.”
Representing a diverse cross-section of the population and set to embark on residencies spanning 22 states and 23 specialties, the graduates listened to a series of inspiring speeches before Lyuba Konopasek, MD, senior associate dean for education at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, led them in reciting the Quinnipiac Netter Physician’s Pledge.
President Judy Olian praised the graduates for how they “emerged stronger” from circumstances no medical students had ever faced and finished “on a high note, with a brilliant future ahead.”
“This has been quite a journey — one marked by pride and joy but also by more than a few twists and turns along the way,” Olian said. “I congratulate you — and I thank you — for adapting and adjusting with grace and generosity to, yes, we did have a pandemic. You weathered that period with strength and resilience. You supported each other and you supported communities around us.”
Juthani made history in 2021 when she became the first Indian American appointed to the DPH commissioner role. Her groundbreaking work in the study and treatment of infectious diseases saw her emerge as one of the state’s leading voices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincided with a time when the Netter graduates embarked on their unconventional journey as first-year medical school students.
They should be commended, she said, for adapting to a remote environment that saw them miss out on the in-person pageantry of a White Coat Ceremony and other milestones directly impacted by the pandemic.
One student, Hannah Lahey, MD ’24, told Juthani that bonds were strengthened by “learning in pods” and other innovative measures the School of Medicine faculty implemented on the fly.
Recalling the first wave of the pandemic and its inherent uncertainty, Juthani — a “trailblazing professor,” researcher and former fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, as Olian put it — said it was her savvy and steady presence as a physician that ultimately led to her getting the call from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as DPH commissioner. She said the patients she encountered made the pandemic more tangible, and telling their stories resonated more with Connecticut residents than any data points could.
“It was an unprecedented administrative challenge to leverage the expertise of a small group of infectious disease fellows and faculty,” Juthani said. “I had a job to do. So, I did it. I held Zoom rounds daily to help answer questions from hundreds of doctors from various specialties trying to care for COVID patients. I spent hours responding to media requests to help educate the public as well. We all banded together and made it through the first wave.”
One of the first textbooks Juthani opened as a medical student contained the work of Netter, “the Michelangelo of medicine” for whom each new Netter graduate has “the honor to bear his name on your diplomas,” she said. She concluded her speech with an impassioned plea on behalf of Connecticut, where a physician shortage is expected.
“For those who are staying in Connecticut, we are thrilled,” Juthani said. “For those of you who are leaving us, consider coming back after residency to help keep Connecticut healthy. For me, the entire state of Connecticut is my patient. Join me in fighting to ensure that health is a human right for all residents.”
Her closing statement elicited hearty cheers from the crowd of family and friends gathered in the arena to witness this pivotal moment for the graduates.
“Although you didn’t get a chance to don a white coat at the beginning of your journey,” she said, “you have earned the right to wear that white coat with pride every day going forward.”
Dean Phillip Boiselle, MD, praised the graduates for their “grace and grit” with which they navigated the challenges of the past four years, preparing them to uphold the school’s vision of “painting a brighter and more equitable healthcare future for all — one patient at a time.”
He said the pandemic exposed and exacerbated long-standing health inequities and disparities and tested the resilence of our healthcare organizations and healthcare providers like never before.
“You are graduating into a world that desperately needs doctors just like you,” Boiselle said. “Physicians who are compassionate, curious, dedicated, empathetic, equity-minded, humanistic, humble, innovative, patient-centered, resilient, respectful and team-oriented. That is quite a list — and as Quinnipiac Netter grads, you embody all of these qualities and more!”
After degrees were conferred, Madison Masters, MD ’24, delivered the student address. Masters, who served as class president for four years, acknowledged her parents and grandparents in the audience, recalling how she first learned to “leave each place a bit better than I found it” on family hiking trips. She called upon her classmates to treat their new profession the same way.
“I know our career path is exhausting, and primes us to be rule-followers, and not to rock the boat,” Masters said. “And by the time training is finished, and attending-hood cradles us safely in its arms, we will be so, so tired. Even so, when that time comes, I hope you will recognize how much power we hold, together. The lives and livelihoods of our patients and our colleagues depend on us. I hope you will pick up a piece of trash on your hikes.”
Rebecca Zhoujie Fang, MD ’24, performed the national anthem after an introduction from Provost Debra Liebowitz, who introduced President Olian. Jeanne Doherty ’94, a member of the board of trustees and the alumni association board, delivered the alumni welcome address.
