As the Class of 2018 Awards and Alumni Banquet drew to a close, fourth-year students Jeff Johnson and John Livingstone treated the crowd to “WesternMichiganUniversityHomerStrykerM.D.SchoolofMedicine,” a song they penned as a hilarious take on the ups and downs, and the joys and perils of medical school.
“Our class blazed a trial, led the way, set the bar and now we’re here today,” Johnson and Livingstone crooned with each chorus.
The song prompted eruptions of laughter from the crowd at the CityScape Events Center in downtown Kalamazoo on Thursday evening, May 10. But the song’s chorus was also a warm reminder of the indelible mark WMed’s first MD students have left on the medical school as they prepare to graduate on Sunday, May 13, at Miller Auditorium.
The 48 students in the Class of 2018 will leave for residency training knowing that they have in fact blazed a trail for each of the MD classes that will follow in their path. Dr. Hal B. Jenson, the medical school’s founding dean, recalled during his remarks at the banquet, that Johnson and Livingstone and their classmates possessed a pioneering spirit that led them to be a part of WMed’s inaugural class.
So, as their time as WMed comes to an end, the students were officially welcomed as alumni of the medical during the banquet and the event served as a chance to honor the top students in the class, as well as faculty who the students chose as award recipients.
Here’s a complete list of the students and faculty who were honored during the Alumni and Awards Banquet:
Students
Commendations
Quality Improvement with Commendation
Michael Behun
Serena Chen
Amy Chonghasawat
Satya Dalavayi
Research with Commendation
Nicole Baker
Michael Behun
Heather Chen
Jacqueline Dauch
Grant Finlayson
Nicole Foley
Timothy Truong
Ana Villalobos Acosta
Timothy Wysozan
Eleanor Yu
Outstanding Student Awards
Anesthesiology: Grant Finlayson and Sheila Sullivan
Emergency Medicine: Jacob Brugger
Family and Community Medicine: Thu Nguyen
Medicine: Nicole Foley
Obstetrics and Gynecology: Samuel Yost
Orthopaedic Surgery: Michael Behun
Pathology: Heather Chen and Timothy Wysozan
Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine: Ana Villalobos Acosta and Garlen Yu
Psychiatry: Olivia Fournier
Radiology: Eleanor Yu
Surgery: Peter White
CLEAR Awards
Clinician Award: Timothy Truong
Leader Award: Kevin Cates
Educator Award: Arad Abadi
Advocate Award: Ana Villalobos Acosta
Researcher Award: Jacqueline Dauch
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Inductees
McKenzie Akers
Michael Behun
Nicole Foley
Ana Villalobos Acosta
Timothy Wysozan
Samuel Yost
Upjohn Humanism Honor Society Inductees
McKenzie Akers
Kevin Cates
Jacqueline Dauch
Tyler Harris
Ana Villalobos Acosta
Samuel Yost
Dean’s Endowed Scholarship
McKenzie Akers
Peter H. Capelli Endowed Scholarship
Samuel Yost
James R. Ryan Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship
Samuel Yost
Faculty
Outstanding Basic Science Educator, Foundations of Medicine
Maria Sheakley, PhD
Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Foundations of Medicine
Joel Reinoehl, MD
Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Clerkship Director
Melissa Olken, MD
Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Clinical Faculty
Ana Hoekstra, MD
Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Resident Physician
David Schutter, MD