Their Celebration, Your Inspiration

Good morning. 

The 69th annual UMMC Commencement will be held at the Mississippi Coliseum about an hour from now, starting at 10 a.m. You can watch the livestream on the UMMC Facebook page here. (No login required.) 

It’s one of the highest honors as vice chancellor to be able to lead this ceremony to confer degrees upon more than 960 health care professionals. Each year when I’m standing on that stage looking out, I’m energized by what I see on the faces looking back – excitement. I see people who are excited about starting their health professions career or taking a step forward in an existing one. They WANT to make a difference through providing excellent patient care or discovering new or better treatments or looking into the root causes of disease and poor health or educating the generations of health care learners who will follow in their footsteps.

Today’s graduates may not read this column. They’re a little busy today, I guess. So, here are some words for the rest of you. 

Use this annual event as your own personal and professional uplift. 

We can all learn and take inspiration from each year’s graduating classes. Their energy should feed your energy. We were all in the same position at one time, eager to jump start our career, even if we didn’t start out associated with health care. We can still have that enthusiasm daily. I have found throughout my career that the more energy I bring to my job, the more rewarding it is – and the more effective I can be. 

As you’ve heard me say several times, working at UMMC isn’t easy. We are faced with challenges in resources –people, time, money – as we work hard to educate future health care professionals, conduct cutting edge research and provide care to the sickest and most complex patients in Mississippi. This isn’t the place to be if you are looking for easy. But the reward can be enormous and the impact we can have if we work together – with dedication and enthusiasm – can be life changing for all Mississippians. Many of today’s graduates will be joining you soon as a member of the team. They will be coming in hot, ready to make a difference. Lead them. Guide them. They need to see early what is possible. Let your experience be their next level of education. And allow them to lift you up, give you energy. 

We have wind in our sails and we are moving toward our goals. We need to keep it up. We can be inspired in many ways – most of which don’t require putting on regalia and walking across a stage. Today gives me energy, and I’m excited about what’s to come as these new health care professionals join us in our effort to build A Healthier Mississippi.