UMMC graduates urged to ‘look for the joy’ during the essential work ahead

Published on Friday, May 24, 2024

By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu

Photos By: Joe Ellis and Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Communications

George Doby’s oldest child was 5 when he earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing school.

Seventeen years later, he watched her receive her own BSN – and, on the same stage, just minutes apart, she saw her dad accept his Master of Science in Nursing.

As Doby said: “How often do you get a daddy and a daughter graduating the same day?”

Doby and his daughter, Anna Welborn, both of Brandon, were two of around 765 graduates who strode across the Mississippi Coliseum stage to collect their diplomas Friday, during the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s 68^th annual Commencement.

Students in the schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, graduate studies in the health sciences, population health and health related professions added up to a graduating class of 942, representing 943 degrees; one student, was awarded two, the MD/PhD.

A total of 930 degrees were conferred, officially, with another 13 students expected to complete their degree requirements. On Friday, Dr. LouAnn Woodward helped them mark this milestone in their careers.

“The work before you is hard. It is important. It is heavy. And it is rewarding and it is worth doing. Remember the excitement, the spirit and the passion you have today and keep it with you,” said Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. 

“As you move forward in your career, look for the joy … . Every day is not a good day – some days are really tough. But you spend too much of your life working to not enjoy it. As you practice your profession, have a good time.”

Dr. Glenn Boyce, chancellor of the University of Mississippi, underlined the contributions of the graduates’ family and friends.

“No one succeeds on this journey alone, and I know there are loved ones here today who also sacrificed and supported you, some very deeply, on this journey,” he told the graduates.

And Boyce paid tribute to those who taught them. “These faculty have challenged you, guided you, demanded your best, and have given you, their best,” he said. “At times, I’m sure you probably thought they were too demanding.

“But very soon, when you compare your preparation at this health sciences campus with that of your peers from elsewhere, you’ll find how very fortunate you are to have been taught and trained by these outstanding faculty.”

Among them is Dr. Joey Granger, professor of physiology and biophysics, acknowledged as the winner of the 2024 Regions Bank TEACH Prize, given each year to the person who best represents the highest qualities of the Medical Center's academic faculty. 

For their part, Doby and Welborn, the father-daughter graduating pair, had one mutual faculty member during their intersecting journeys in the School of Nursing – where their presence seemed predestined.

Doby, 49, is from “a long line of nurses”: his mom, grandmother, two aunts, two cousins and a niece.

“Anna Leigh was 3 when I decided to go to nursing school,” said Doby, who earned his BSN at UMMC in 2007. Now 22, his daughter was enrolled at the University of Mississippi when she called to ask him if she was nursing material.

“He said, ‘Well, it’s in your blood,’” Welborn recalled. Taking that as a yes, she entered the BSN 2+2 program, finished her first two years in Oxford, then set out for Jackson and her final two at UMMC.

While in school, Welborn found that family ties would mean even more to her in the years to come: While in nursing school, she became a single mom.

“I took off a couple of months to have my baby,” she said, meaning her one-year-old daughter, Tatum. “Coming back that next semester really did me in. It was hard to balance everything.

“I called my dad all the time. He would offer to help me study, and he was always there when I needed him.”

The School of Nursing faculty and administration were also “very accommodating,” she said. “And my classmates would come over for a babysitting study group.” Her mom, Whitney Carman and stepmom, Amanda Doby, also helped, she said, “and every grandparent known to man.”

Doby faced his own challenges. As a part-time student pursuing his master’s degree, he worked full-time as an RN in UMMC’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit: 12-hour shifts, seven days on, seven off.

“I was up here a bunch,” he said. “I was determined to graduate the same day as Anna Leigh.”

The culmination of their hard work was their separate, but binding, marches across the Coliseum stage. The day was doubly, even triply special. Both graduated with honors – Welborn, cum laude; Doby, summa cum laude.

Also: “Anna Leigh didn’t get to walk on her high school graduation day,” Doby said. “This was her first graduation ceremony. And I didn’t get to walk for my bachelor’s degree; so, this college graduation ceremony was my first.”

Welborn and Doby were among the 451 graduates of the School of Nursing, including those who received the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, or Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Other degrees conferred include:

School of Dentistry, 33 graduates receiving the Doctor of Dental Medicine degree and 19 graduates receiving the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene; total: 52, with eight still completing requirements.

School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, 89 graduates receiving either the Doctor of Philosophy or the Master of Science.

School of Health Related Professions, 166 graduates receiving either the Doctor of Physical Therapy, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, or Doctor of Health Administration; Master of Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences, Health Informatics and Information Management, Magnetic Resonance Imaging or Nuclear Medicine Technology; or Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science, Health Sciences, or Health Informatics and Information Management. Four students are still completing requirements.

School of Medicine, 154 graduates receiving the Doctor of Medicine degree, with one additional student scheduled for June graduation.

School of Population Health, 16 graduates receiving the Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health Science, Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science, Population Health Science or Population Health Management.

Doctor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy (MD/PhD), one.

UMMC enrolled 3,114 students this year. The seven students who received top honors are:

Azure Dee Dianne Hayes, Richard N. Graves Award for the registered nurse senior deemed most outstanding by the faculty in clinical and overall performance;

Ansley Jessica Hill, Christine L. Oglevee Memorial Award for the outstanding School of Nursing baccalaureate graduate;

Ariel Tiana Walker, Dr. Virginia Stansel Tolbert Award for the student with the highest academic average in the School of Health Related Professions;

Jacob Hamilton Fortenberry, Wallace V. Mann Award for the dental student with the highest academic average for four years;

Isaiah Andrew Edwards, Waller S. Leathers Award for the medical student with the highest academic average for four years;

Kisa Kianna Harris, John D. Bower School of Population Health Award to recognize exceptional potential in the field of population health;

Xing Fang, Robert A. Mahaffey, Jr. Memorial Award to recognize exceptional research potential of young investigators in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.