(upbeat orchestral music) (audience applauds) (slow orchestral music) (audience applauds) (slow orchestral music) (quiet overlapping chattering) - [Woman] I'm trying to get this started.

I'm onstage.

I got them.

Here we go.

(slow orchestral music) (audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) (slow orchestral music continues) (audience applauds) (overlapping chattering) (audience cheers) (audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) (audience applauds) (audience cheers) (slow orchestral music continues) (audience cheers) (audience member shouts indistinctly) (audience applauds) - Wow, we have a good crowd here, welcome, everybody.

Please all stand for the national anthem.

This is presented to us by the Lansing Concert Band, directed by Dr. Samuel McIlhagga.

("The Star-Spangled Banner") (audience cheers) (audience applauds) Please be seated.

Welcome.

In recognition of the land where we teach and learn, I would like to read the MSU Land Acknowledgement.

We collectively acknowledge that Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg, Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples.

In particular, the University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

We recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of Michigan's 12 federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands.

By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Michigan State University accountable to the needs of the American Indian and Indigenous peoples.

Hello, everyone, I'm Birgit Puschner, I'm the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and I really want to welcome you on behalf of faculty, staff, and alumni.

I am delighted to extend a very warm congratulations to all our graduates, their families, and friends.

Welcome to the 2022 in-person commencement ceremony.

(audience cheers) For the purpose of our ceremony, I would like to ask the audience to turn off all cellphones, or make sure they are on silent mode.

I would like to introduce members of our platform party and ask them to stand when their name is called.

Please hold your recognition until all have been introduced.

Dr. Dee... oh, that doesn't work.

(laughs) Dr. Dee Thornell, CVM alumni award recipient and our commencement speaker.

I guess I could go in order, anyway.

Dr. Steve Carey, Associate Chair and Associate Professor, Small Animal Clinical Sciences.

He was selected by the Class of 2022 to assist with hooding.

Dr. Marie Hopfensperger, Assistant Professor, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, the Class of 2022 selected her also to assisting with hooding.

Dr. Victor DiRita, Endowed Chair, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Dr. Dalen Agnew, Chair of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation.

Dr. Robert Fowkes Gajin, Chair of Small Animal Clinical Sciences.

Dr. Annette O'Connor, Chair of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

Dr. Linda Mansfield, Endowed Chair.

Ms. Taylor Epp, Director of the Veterinary Nursing Program.

Dr. Erin Howard, President of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Kelly Meyers, Hospital Director of the Veterinary Medical Center.

Dr. Hilda Mejia Abreu, Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Dr. Bo Norby, Associate Dean for Academic Programs.

Dr. Helene Pazak, Associate Dean for Academic Programs.

And I have to step back and introduce Dr. Lee Anne Kroll, Professor in the Veterinary Nursing Program.

Maggie Bodiya, faculty in the Veterinary Nursing Program.

(Birgit mumbles) Oh, Dr. Angel Abuelo, Associate Professor in Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

Dave Emery, Assistant Professor in Small Animal Clinical Sciences.

Melinda Wilkins, Associate Professor in Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

Did I get everybody?

Oh, sorry, Jolynne.

Jolynne Judge, faculty in the Veterinary Nursing Program.

Welcome to all.

(audience applauds) Classes of 2022, welcome to the commencement celebration.

I'm really happy we're all here together in person.

This is a big day, it's the culmination of one journey and the beginning of another.

Today, we celebrate all graduates of the College of Veterinary Medicine, those receiving the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, the Veterinary Nursing Degree or certificates, and also recognizing the interns and residents who have completed their advanced training with us.

You have all worked extraordinarily hard to accomplish this goal and built a lifelong community of friends, family, and colleagues.

Given the past few years, we all can appreciate how important community is more than ever.

I want to recognize and thank everyone that supported our graduates throughout their time in school.

I'd like to ask all the family members, friends who supported our graduates to stand, and then I would like to ask our graduates to send a round of applause to all those standing.

So please, family, friends, stand, be recognized.

(graduates applauding) (faculty applauding) Thank you.

Each year, I start thinking about this commencement address months before the event.

Of course I want to craft something inspiring with insightful words that is motivational and highlights your accomplishments as you transition to your next professional endeavor.

I want to offer words that you will remember and carry on with you into your careers, and I admit I also want to provide a little bit of entertainment.

When I think about the past few years, I think of change, specifically navigating change.

The world threw us a big obstacle in 2020, I'm not mentioning the obstacle by name, an obstacle that morphed and split and grew and grew, and grew in many directions.

This affected every part of our lives and had a major impact on our relationships, whether they were from school, work, or friends or families.

I know you all felt disappointed by plans and expectations that had to change, and guess what, then they changed again and again and again.

And yet, here you all are, now today at graduation.

You adapted and you pursued your goals, each of you successful in that endeavor.

Change is never easy, but it can be valuable.

It can stretch and strengthen you in ways that consistency never could.

In the future, when you reflect back on this time, I hope you're able to see past what was lost and remember what was gained, the collaborations and opportunities that propelled each of you to your next chapter.

Recently, I was talking with a group of colleagues about our career paths, specifically what we thought we would do at the beginning of our education and how we landed where we are today.

Almost all of us confess that yes, we're doing something different today than we thought we would at the beginning of our careers.

While we each appreciated some short-term disappointment at the time, those changes opened up new worlds of opportunity, career growth, discovery, and satisfaction, and in unimaginable ways.

My own journey as a veterinary professional was pretty circuitous.

My plan was to become an orthopedic surgeon, but unfortunately, there were no opportunities open to me for advanced training at the time.

I went on to work in mixed animal practice for several years, then I started to realize that doing research was an area of interest, so I thought about the subject I enjoyed most in veterinary school, and that was physiology.

I went to back to school for a PhD in physiology, and later I applied for and received a fellowship from the German Research Foundation.

This fellowship allowed me to choose a lab anywhere in the world to complete my postdoctoral training.

And yes, I did that at U of M, in the medical school, and had a good time, okay, and spent two years researching physiology and the mechanisms of toxicants.

That was when the idea of combining the two fields, physiology and toxicology, along with veterinary medicine, just opened up in front of me, veterinary toxicology.

I then applied for residency in toxicology at UC Davis, and recently, I came across a quote by author Dr. Steve Maraboli that I feel sums up my career trajectory pretty perfectly.

Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.

I admit not being able to realize my first goal was disappointing in that moment, but I allowed my interests and training to expose me to new opportunities.

This exposure opened my mind and heart to a field I never even thought about, and as it turns out, it suits me perfectly.

I love what I do.

Toxicology has enabled me to engage in exciting research, diagnostic medicine, develop a love for teaching, explore the possibilities in higher education, and ultimately, it led me to Michigan State.

If someone had told me as a veterinary student in the '90s that one day I would be here in front of you today as the dean of the college, I would have laughed at them.

Most of my friends and my colleagues could share similar stories about how their careers evolved.

It probably will happen to many of you, if not all of you, not as a disappointment or a failure, excuse me.

And when it does, my hope for all of you is, try to see change not as a disappointment or a failure, but as a career adventure, a path that is just as much a success as any other because it's you walking it.

Keep an open mind, consider whatever prospects are presented to you along the way, and seize those opportunities.

I want to share a fable with you that I hope you find relevant to both your budding careers and life in general.

It's called "The Farmer and the Leaky Pot."

A long time ago, there lived a farmer.

The farmer had two large pots, which hung on each end of a pole that the farmer carried across their neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the farmhouse, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years, this went on daily, with the farmer delivering only one and a half pots full of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot felt broken and useless.

"How can I be of any value when I can't even hold my water," the pot thought.

The watering pot loved the farmer, so one day it decided to talk to the farmer about the crack.

"I don't know if you have noticed," the pot said softly, on the brink of tears, "but I have a crack.

I don't think I'm of any value to you anymore.

It's okay if you want to throw me out and get a new pot."

The farmer was quiet and thought for a while.

To the watering pot, it seemed like hours, although it was probably just a few minutes.

Finally, the farmer brought the pot to the window, overlooking the fields below.

"I want to show you something," the farmer told the pot.

"Do you notice that there are flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other side?

That's because I've always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.

I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day, while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

For two years, I've been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my table.

Without you being just the way you are, I would not have this beauty to grace my house.

I think I'll keep you," the farmer said.

I want you to remember that there's beauty and utility in all of us.

Change and imperfections do not translate to flaws and failure.

It's up to you to realize and make good use of them.

As human beings, we each have the capacity to contribute to the wellbeing of the world around us and those we encounter in it.

Make no mistake, my newest colleagues, this is the truest measure of success.

In closing, I'd like you all to concentrate on how you've grown as professionals throughout your lives, and especially during this past year.

Realize how change allowed you to become more innovative, resilient, and strong, qualities that will serve you well in your veterinary careers, not to mention the animals and people that you will serve.

Most of all, I challenge you to go further than you have ever, ever imagined you could, because as veterinarians, nurses, caregivers, scientists, public health professionals, your potential and possibilities are endless.

Thank you, and congratulations, Classes of 2022.

(audience applauds) I now have the distinct honor of introducing you to a group of meritorious college award winners who were recognized at the CVM Awards Ceremony last night.

These individuals have given great service to our college, distinguished themselves in their careers, have enhanced the reputation and honor of this college.

This is an appropriate ceremony to honor their accomplishments and hopefully inspire their newest professional colleagues from the Class of 2022 to achieve their stature and preeminence in their respective fields and careers.

I first will introduce the Distinguished Veterinary Alumni Award.

Recipients of this award have received their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and are held in high esteem by their colleagues for their achievements in practice, teaching, research, service, or organized veterinary medicine.

The awards are conferred in two categories.

One goes to an individual who has distinguished themself in private practice for a sustained period of time and who has added great value to the veterinary community through excellence and practice, exemplary professionalism, and outstanding service.

The other goes to an individual who similarly has excelled in public practice with government, corporate, military, or academic entities, and added significant value to the profession and to their organization.

The distinguished Veterinary Alumni Award recipient for practitioners is Dr. Dee Thornell from Fairbanks, Alaska.

You will see and hear more from her shortly.

The Distinguished Veterinary Alumni Award, non-practitioner, is Dr. Jim Sikarskie, who retired recently from the college and who is still a wildlife veterinarian.

The Distinguished Postdoctoral Alumni Award recipient is Dr. Augusta Pelosi, who is a veterinarian cardiologist.

We also extend a honorary Veterinary Alumni Award to someone who is a non-alumnus member of the college community who has been both distinctive and distinguished in one or more of the college's mission areas, teaching, research, or service.

In recognition of sustained excellence and the great credit this person has brought Michigan State University, the college officially names him or her an honorary alumnus.

Our honorary Veterinary Alumni Award for 2002 is Dr. Simon Peterson Jones, an ophthalmologist in our teaching hospital.

We also extend a Distinguished Veterinary Nursing Alumni Award, and that is the recipient has received a bachelor's of science degree in veterinary nursing, technology, or a certificate of completion in veterinary technology nursing from the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Nursing, and has excelled in practice, teaching, research, service, or organized veterinary medicine.

This year's recipient of the distinguished veterinary nursing alumni award is Kelly Keith from Scotts, Michigan.

So today, we celebrate the accomplishments of our residents, interns, veterinary nursing, undergraduate, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine graduates of 2022.

First, I would like to provide you with some information about our graduates.

I'm going to talk a little bit about our CVM interns and residents first.

CVM interns and residents come from various colleges for veterinary medicine from all over the world.

They're exceptionally prepared for further training and have contributed to the CVM Veterinary Medical Center's mission.

In partnership with our clinicians and staff, they educate future generations of veterinary nursing and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students.

It's a proud moment at MSU CVM because we're able to recognize the completion of rigorous training for our interns and residents.

I'm honored that we have some of them participating today in this year's celebration.

The veterinary nursing graduating class consists of two certificate candidates and 17 bachelor's degree candidates.

Four of the candidates have previously earned baccalaureate degrees in areas including animal science, zoology, and communications.

The class has only one out-of-state student that joined the program from California.

Almost a third of the veterinary nursing graduating class is first generation college graduates.

We have the honor to confer the completion of the veterinary science degree to two currently enrolled DVM students.

These graduates started the DVM program without a bachelor's degree and worked to complete courses to satisfy the BS requirements.

The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine graduates were admitted from a pool of 1,199 applicants.

The DVM Class of 2022 consists of 78 Michigan residents and 37 non-Michigan residents.

The gender breakdown is 16% men and 84% women.

Their majors included 53% science majors, 47 non-science majors.

They represent 18 different states and five countries, Taiwan, India, Latvia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Canada.

The Class of 2022 speaks 15 different languages, and I'm going to list them, Arabic, Hindi, Polish, Chinese, English, Russian, Gujarati, Swedish, Latvian, Punjabi, French, Spanish, Urdu, and Armenian.

It's now my great pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker to you.

Dr. Thornell went to MSU.

She is a Spartan woman.

She got her DVM degree here in 1981 and she completed her undergraduate in vet school in five years.

Following vet school, she worked in an emergency clinic for about a year in the Lansing area, and then she loaded up a horse in her trailer, along with her dad, and drove to Fairbanks, Alaska, and she never left.

So she's still in Fairbanks, Alaska.

She started her own business about 40 years ago, she started the Animal House Veterinary Hospital in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Her motto is, "All critters welcome."

So that includes moose, ox, bears, beavers, bald eagles, chinchillas, iguanas, and yes, she also takes care of dogs, cats, horses, goats, sheep, and cattle, but that's probably the boring species for her.

In 2015, after getting a pilot's license, Dr. Dee Thornell piloted a plane and flew to the Arctic Circle to treat animals.

Along on that trip came a TV team, and that became the first episode of Animal Planet's "Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet."

Dr. Dee is eager to bring recent grads to Alaska to share her experience and her enthusiasm for the profession and what it can do for all of us.

It's my great honor to introduce Dr. Dee, the Alaska vet, as this year's commencement speaker.

(claps) (audience applauds) - Thank you, Dean Puschner.

I'm kind of at odds here.

Usually I have a microphone and I can kind of walk around and do this and have fun with, but I feel like a dog on a short leash all of a sudden.

(audience laughs) So, but they taught me how to heel 40 years ago, just like they just finished teaching you how to heel.

(audience laughs) So without that saying, we're gonna use a little movie magic and I'm gonna put this little bubble above your head today, and I want you to go back in time as you're sitting here waiting for me to finish the speech so you can get the diploma, and I want you to go... what movie magic does is we ask why, when, where, why, that was a big one, but why, when, where, who helped you, and how did it happen?

So first thing I want to know is, and you guys, keep the bubble to yourself, by the way, why did you do this?

And then next thing I want you, all the people behind you, why'd I support them?

Well, I love them, right?

So that's right, you got a big support group.

(audience applauds) And those are all the folks that went and said yes, and I don't know where you were.

Hopefully when you said, "I want to be a veterinarian," you had said something like an order of, "I love animals."

And so you probably went through the same thing I did through high school.

You go to high school and you go to your career counselor and you go, "I want to be a veterinarian."

Well, my career counselor had a daughter that was older than I was, and had applied to vet school three times, and she was like, "Oh, Dee, do you know what you're going into?"

And I'm like, "Yeah, I guess, now I do."

And, well, her daughter was in my class, so we made it, it happened.

You also went to veterinary clinics, and you had to go and do all that free time where you were the grunt for the grunt, (laughs) and you made it, you still did it after that, and you're like, "Okay, that's, I want to do it really bad."

And then you went to undergrad school, and I don't know if it's like this still, but we had, when we were in, what, 2,500 people that are pre-vet, and they're all doing, there's a lecture and they're hiding underneath and they're writing their notes and I'm like, "Dude, I'm at the lecture, too, this isn't like a test."

Geez, it was just cutthroat.

But the favorite point in time, and I want to let you guys remember this is when you got that letter.

I know I was at the dorm in Acres, and everybody was opening their boxes 'cause they knew when the letters were coming, and they were all opening them up and it was like, "Sorry about your luck, trucker.

Sorry about your luck, trucker."

And then you opened yours up and you said, "Congratulations, you won the lottery."

(audience laughs) And so about that time you went, "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that."

But you got here, and that's because there's a lot of people that looked over carefully at all your stuff, let me tell you, I know, before they even let you into this school.

So you got through the first stage.

So now you're into your dream career, and you get to the first day and you kind of get the nervous jitters, like, "Uh-oh, can I really do this?"

Yes, you can, 'cause if... this is a new support crew, and if you know how many hours that whole team of professors has under their belt, there'd be thousands and thousands of hours, just to get a whole big program to help you fulfill your career dream.

Now, some days you probably thought, "I don't know if that guy likes me," or gal, but they do, they had to do their own things to get you that it, and they did.

And of course you had the support crew behind you, and they went, "How much?"

(audience laughs) They still, okay.

And you're gonna have experiences and stories that are just amazing.

Keep putting those in that bubble up there.

It's your own little special bubble, your little place some days when you want to go, "Why did I get into this," you just keep going and putting all those fun times.

And really, I'll remember one thing, I was getting close to graduation, and after orientation, where you're really nervous, and then all of a sudden they go ahead, and you kind of get cocky, going through histopath, and then you get to the third year and you're like, "Boy, I'm feeling pretty cool about myself, I'm smart."

And then the fourth year, I would love to see some of the professors, because then they introduce you to a new concept.

It's called the pet parent.

(laughs) And all of you are like, "But whoa, whoa, whoa, I got in it for animals, what?"

Yeah, now you get to talk to people.

(audience laughs) And guess what, it's the first item, it's called the history, and how you're gonna (indistinct) with all this wonderful magic behind you, is how you're gonna talk to the pet parent and make sure whatever you say, just like we did in vet school, we're training those pet parents to make sure we shine, that's right, they have to learn from you how to follow all your recommendations.

And if I had that magic pill, I'd give it to you right now.

I'm still learning it.

So anyway, now you're here.

That was just an introduction, and you're like, "Oh, that'll probably go away," no, it doesn't.

So 40 years ago and 11 months, 41, I graduated on June 7th, and I was in your spot, going, "Wow, this is pretty cool.

I got the diploma, it's gonna go on my wall."

So keep that in the bubble of your head.

So I went out and got a pilot's license.

So the difference between the two is I got my pilot's license, and they have a thing called an envelope.

I tell you what, when you're at 8,000 feet, weather all over the place, no landing strip for 300 miles, and you're like, you don't stretch the envelope when you're flying, okay?

You keep that envelope safe.

A diploma is something different, stretch the envelope.

Man, you can do anything, and you know what?

They can't take it away from you.

So you're in like Flynn.

You can go and have fun.

I'm giving you that permission today, go and have fun.

But also remember the people, the support crews that you have.

You've got a great support crew.

You guys are great.

And you got a wonderful support crew here, and one of the things I've learned through life is there's two magic words called "please" and "thank you," and right now, I want you guys to really reflect and think of about two people from each of these groups, maybe a couple from your class, and you can use note cards, you can do it any special way that feels good about it, but you just do something to say thank you for being here for me and thank you for giving me my diploma and helping me, and just, that's very important.

All right, now I'm gonna tell you everything they didn't teach you in vet school.

All right, we're back at that client.

It's called interpersonal communication skills, which I know all this about things that bleed, but now I have go and try and do that.

The one thing I can tell you right now, I've been through a lot of motivational speakers, and how to talk with people and how to extract, do they know how to read, do they listen better, do they feel what I'm saying?

You've got all these different ways that people learn, and I'm sure you guys already took those courses.

(laughs) But it's real important, I have to say one thing that's a must for everybody in this auditorium, it's one of the best things I've ever listened to, and that was Jack Canfield, the guy that writes "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and all that.

His best work is a thing called "Self-esteem & Peak Performance," it's wonderful.

I mean, that's the first thing, you're gonna wake up in the morning, you're gonna have to look yourself in the mirror and go, "There's no roadblocks today, I'm gonna do this."

Just have to get it, it's very important.

The other thing is business training.

(laughs) What, I have to make a living?

Now I just heard the bubbles up above everybody's head in back going, "You mean they're gonna pay their own car insurance?"

(audience laughs) Yeah, we'll get there.

So you're gonna have to go ahead and you're gonna have a lot of people looking at you going, "But you got into it because you love animals."

Now, I know there's a few of you that are going into microscopes, and they're going, "No, I'm just gonna be looking at a microscope, I'm going on to grad school."

But there will, and they're gonna play with those heartstrings, so this is how you combat that.

You get associated with nonprofits.

I even have a nonprofit associated with my clinic, so if I have clients that want to go ahead and give money to help somebody else, I've got it there, and then it's my staff that goes ahead and says, "This is somebody we've gotta help here."

Do things with 4H, find people around organizations that can help because when somebody comes and says that to you, like, "Well, doc, you got into it because you just love these animals," and yeah, I did get into that, but I also got into it to make a living by loving and caring for animals in a professional manner, and that's where I do have to pay my bills.

So you start referring them out to that.

I had to tell them, "Hey, credit makes enemies.

I want to be you friend and I'm not a bank."

So refer them out, have that set up already before you even go into private practice right now.

Figure that out, offer that to the people you're going to work for.

Find different ways so that you're guilt-free, you can have fun, make a living, pay your car insurance, pay your student loans.

It's okay, it'll be rewarding, I promise, I did it.

I have one little thing, it's called "pretend you're being filmed every day."

This was, (laughs) literally, but also, I always, before I even had the television show, there's something, I'm kind of walking on the edge here, I call it Mother Nature.

Some people call it religion or God or whatever, some people call it the dog gods or the cat gods, whatever you're feeling, I call it Mother Nature, and I always want to believe that when I look back on life and close my eyes for the last time, that that movie looks awful darn good.

And so (laughs) but some days you're not gonna know all the answers, and that's Mother Nature, she has a little thing, I call it humor, and humor is the oil in the engine of life.

So you always have to have a little bit of oil in this engine.

So some days you don't do things right, so what?

Open another door, do something different.

And then remember, you can probably go back to another movie called "Groundhog Day" where you can learn how to do it right, and you'll go back through it and you'll find those days, but just make sure you do that.

Plan, when you start planning your life, your business, you professional business, bankers, use the SOAP, and I don't even know if we still use SOAPs, don't break my bubble, we're not, 'cause my bubble is a SOAP, subjective, objective, assessment, and plan.

And I just sit there and I go, "Well, what's the subjective data here that I'm getting from the outside source, what's the objective data, what's going on, what's the assessment, what can I do to kind of figure this out before I look stupid, and make a plan?"

So just do that, it makes life really easy to make you comfortable in your new realm of what they didn't tell you in vet school.

And the last thing I'm gonna kind of end with, sorry, Dean Puschner, I won't pick on you, there are people from other colleges around the state and around the world that will haunt you all your life, usually around football time, not this year, but, (laughs) (audience laughs) but they'll be around, and I have this big Spartan S on my front and it's on my metal tree, it's right there, people walk in and I know I've opened myself up for a couple of those guys to come in and go, "Well, Wonder Woman, what'd you do today?"

And I said, "Well, I went ahead and saved a muskox, actually, eight of them," and how this happened, we had muskox herds on Nunivak Island, and they moved them over to the Susitna Valley, which rocks to cement, liquid cement.

And when the mothers started calving, the calves would get it all in their (indistinct), and they actually would just get hypothermia.

I mean, it was like glue, more like cement.

So what we did is, (laughs) they asked all the veterinarians in Alaska, "Who can help us?

We had 32 calves, we're down to eight.

We want to try and save them."

So (laughs) I went ahead and I get down there and I went ahead and actually put an ad in the paper, looking for muskox washers.

I think I had more people calling just going, "Huh?"

Well, I got 50 or 60 people, so I went with my interpersonal communication skills, my business training, support from the community, a lot of support from how to stop captive myopathies with wild animals, and I went ahead and got... the best part of this, I housed these eight little muskox when they came all cold and looking like cement blocks, got it all planned, we did it.

(laughs) In the power plant at Fort Wainwright Army Base, they offered me right in the heated area to let me use that for over six weeks.

I had people coming and going.

Of course, we had to be all approved, and then with the help of you guys, what we ended up doing, I went ahead and had them all, six people on each muskox, we worked for four hours on one quarter of the muskox with all special shampoos, and get it done, and after four hours, we'd quit, and we'd let them go for four days 'cause we have to let them, the cattle, let them regenerate, just let them sit back.

If you do it too much, you stress them too much and they die.

So they all lived, happy story.

So it worked, and nobody broke into the base, we were all fine, the base is safe.

I wasn't attacked by a wild muskox.

But the other thing I had whenever they'd come and ask about Wonder Woman, I raised a moose once.

Mother moose like to go across the stream, and then their babies go sweeping down the stream, and they stand down there.

One last stood for... they make them stand there for 24 hours before Fish and Game will go on and save them.

So you get this little straggling moose that's dehydrated, cold, big bleeding eyes.

Of course, first thing I did, well, I didn't go to you guys, I went to Washington State 'cause they have a moose rehabilitation, and they're actually producing the food for a captive moose so they've got a good balanced diet.

So I get on the specialist there and I'm like, "I've got this moose calf."

Well, he told me exactly how to do it, which you have to measure that calf every day, and you actually measure its food in grams, and just the right amount of water.

It was really particular.

And he said, "I don't care, Dee, if that moose begs you for more food, you don't give it to her."

I said, "Okay."

So the first thing we had to do is see if she would take it, and she said, "Mother Nature will let us know.

If she will not take that bottle you give her right now, then Mother Nature won and we're not gonna fight the battle.

But if she does, then I'll tell you what you're gonna do next."

And I went, "Okay."

And I put that bottle down and that moose latched onto it, and, I mean, I have, in 15 seconds, it had a quart and a half down.

I was like, holy cow.

Actually, she was a cow moose.

And I was like... but then I remembered, moose are kind of eat and go on the run all the time, so they had to do that, so I was really impressed, so, "She did it, yay, I can send her to you."

"No, no, no, next thing you have to know, Dee, you have to sleep with her."

I'm like, "What?"

Boy, that sounds like a good pickup line at a bar.

(audience laughs) "Do you want to sleep with a moose?"

So I'm like, "Okay," so I got my futon bed, and she just cuddled up.

And we called her Musetta because she had this little (coos), she had this little moo, she looked at me like I was mom.

So I slept with her.

They didn't tell me that as soon as moose get up in the morning, they pee.

(audience laughs) So I went through four futons.

In fact, we started calling them moose-tons.

And so then we packaged her all up and Musetta went to the state of Washington.

Another success story, she lived about another 10 years, was participating in their study and did a great thing.

Yeah, no big deal.

Those guys from the other school can't do that.

So, anyway, I always talk to those guys when they ask what Wonder Woman did.

First, Wonder Woman is fictitional.

So I always ask them, "What did you do, what fun things?"

"Watch football," okay, don't bet with them.

Well, maybe this year.

But I try not to get involved with all this rivalry with schools, but I always look at them and I go, "You guys, I'm not Wonder Woman.

I'm a Spartan, and don't you forget that."

And don't any of you forget that 'cause you are Spartans, and I know you might have gone to undergrad at other schools someplace else, but you're a Spartan today, and don't ever let that spirit go.

I mean it, and I think you guys have to know (claps) that that is your number one pull, (audience applauds) along with all the specialists, all the support.

So for the last little bit, yes, I can make reindeer fly.

Spartan, it's magic dust.

All right, that was for the benefit of the little ones here.

Okay, now put your hands over their ears.

It's actually a combination of a recipe that I found is very useful.

It's called a diploma, it's called a pilot's license, it's called business, knowing who's got the biggest plane in the world that will help you in financing it, and pilots that'll fly it 'cause I certainly don't want to get that rating for a 747.

I have the support of the whole folks behind me in the town, I have interpersonal skills that are cunning and wonderful.

And the most important thing is I have a whole group of people here that know how to drug reindeer.

So then all I have to be is a stewardess.

I just get to go, "Blitzen, I think you need another cocktail."

(audience laughs) Yeah, so without further ado, there is one video I'd like to show you that kind of connects what that story is about, but now I'm seeing if we've got that all ready to go.

There's one more other Spartan fan.

(laughs) And?

Santa, is there any other message you'd like to give away to Michigan State graduates?

- The blessing I gave, and the blessing is may you each have a lifetime that's filled with happiness, peace, good health, prosperity, and most of all, love, which is the greatest gift.

So Merry Christmas, everyone.

My heart goes out to you, the children around the world.

I'm glad you got through your program successfully, and I'm sure when you're spreading your love, the children and your patients will be giving it right back to you.

So thank you so much for what you're doing.

I love you, I wish you a Merry Christmas well in advance.

- [Dee] And, oh, at 12:25 every day, I always think it's a little bit of Christmas every day.

- It is, yeah, 12:25, December 25th.

- [Dee] All right, that's here at North Pole, Alaska, with Santa, yes, he's real.

- I am real.

- [Dee] And he has a great heart.

- Thank you.

- [Dee] So North Pole.

Easter, AKA Christmas, to me, and we are with a world famous celebrity.

So Santa, talk to me about what's in your hand in that little black bag.

- Well, today I've got something special here.

Very, very few of these made, and I wanted to give one of these to Dean Puschner for all the tremendous work she's been doing, not just the community, but for the university, and keeping all those students in line.

So Dean, this is for you, it's a famous Santa Claus coin, and it has my blessing on there, which is, may you have a lifetime filled with happiness, peace, good health, prosperity, and most of all, love.

So I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for taking good care of Dr. Dee Thornell, Dee to me, and I wish you all the best.

(audience applauds) - Congratulations, now you're veterinarians.

Go out and get them, Spartans.

- Thank you, Dr. Dee.

And I did get my present right here, so that's- - He only has 11 left, you're number 11.

- He has only 10 left, so thank you.

Thank you very much.

It's now time to present the certificates of completions to our interns and residents, veterinarian nursing and doctor of veterinarian medicine students.

So it's really a great occasion for us to honor the completion of interns and residents who shared a passion of love for learning and pursuing additional training in that specific area.

So I would ask for the interns and residents to come up.

(indistinct), so congratulations.

(audience applauds) Alyssa Meyer, congratulations.

(audience applauds) Thank you for joining us.

It's now my pleasure to introduce Taylor Epp.

Taylor Epp is the director of our Veterinary Nursing Program.

She's a graduate of Michigan State University's Veterinary Nursing program.

She also holds a master's in Educational Technology from Michigan State University.

Taylor began her career in surgical oncology and found her way back to the Veterinary Nursing Program in 2011 as a faculty member.

Taylor has been the director of the Veterinary Nursing Program since 2017.

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Taylor Epp.

(audience applauds) - Hi, everybody.

I am Taylor Epp, I'm the director of the Veterinary Nursing Program.

I am extremely happy to be here with all of you today to celebrate our graduates and their incredible accomplishments.

I would like to take a minute to give you a brief explanation of the Veterinary Nursing Awards that we will be conferring here today.

The Bachelor of Science and the certificate of completion in Veterinary Nursing are awards made to students who completed curriculum approved by Michigan State University and accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

At Michigan State University, this educational experience includes a strong basis in the physiological sciences and technical skills.

Our students' learning is focused on the development of problem solving skills, and the integration and application of this knowledge to the healthcare of their animal patients.

The certificate of completion in veterinary nursing requires the completion of 71 credits in preclinical course work, and 600 hours of clinical experience in the Veterinary Medical Center.

The certificate of completion curriculum serves as the core curriculum for the Veterinary Nursing Program.

This afternoon, two candidates will be awarded with a certificate of completion.

The Bachelor of Science degree in veterinary nursing requires the completion of 120 semester credits.

In addition to the core program curriculum, the Bachelor of Science degree includes the general education requirements of the university and additional elective course credits.

Bachelor of Science candidates may choose the clinical track or a combined clinical and elective track.

In addition to their didactic classroom and laboratory coursework, the clinical track candidates have completed 30 credits, or 1,200 hours of clinical work.

In the Bachelor of Science combined clinical and elective track, the candidates complete 15 credits or 600 hours of clinical experience, as well as additional elective didactic courses, which represent a second emphasis of study.

This emphasis of study is complimentary to the veterinary nursing education, and may include business finance and accounting, agribusiness, zoology, animal science, biology, and fisheries and wildlife.

This afternoon, 17 candidates will graduate with a bachelor's degree.

To the family and friends in attendance, I would like to thank you for all of the support that you have given your loved ones.

They have put an incredible amount of themselves into this educational experience.

They have been flexible and have shown their versatility and perseverance in their time with us.

Your support to them has been vital to their success.

To the program faculty and staff and the clinical veterinary nurses and veterinarians, I would like to thank you for the critical role you play in the students' educational process, and I express our gratitude for your passion and dedication to our students.

And to the graduates, as you move forward on your journey from here, remember what Dean Puschner said.

Change and the unknown can be scary, but it should also be viewed as an adventure.

Grow in each change and learn how to build off each experience.

You are the next generation of our profession, and you are the ones that are going to make the changes we want to see, and we're excited to see where you take us.

Congratulations, graduates, you made it.

(claps) (audience applauds) At this time, I would like to introduce to each of you the veterinary nursing candidates for individual recognition.

- Ready?

- First up, Autumn Thornton.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) Lauren Tally Warshawski.

(audience applauds) Bailey Armack.

(audience applauds) Laura Arnett.

(audience applauds) Kelsey Collins.

(audience applauds) Jessica Doublesteen.

(audience applauds) McKenzie Krieger.

(audience applauds) Abigail Lyke.

(audience applauds) Marissa Marsh.

(audience applauds) Kristen Milam.

(audience applauds) Jamie Passenger.

(audience applauds) Samantha Poth.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) Alyssa Richards.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) Aaron Singer.

(audience applauds) Sarah Stolting.

(audience applauds) Jenna Vandenberg.

(audience applauds) Carly Westcott.

(audience applauds) Let's give a round of applause to our veterinary nursing graduates.

(audience applauds) It's customary for a couple of candidates to represent their classmates and share their thoughts of their educational experience with the family, friends, and faculty in attendance.

I invite Autumn Thornton to deliver commencement remarks to her fellow graduates.

Autumn Thornton is originally from Athens, Michigan.

She is the daughter of Philip and Marcy Thornton.

She will be working at a small animal general practice in Battle Creek, Michigan, following her graduation.

She has worked there for a year now and she loves it.

Autumn's favorite things about being a veterinary nurse are placing IV catheters and doing dental cleanings.

She has two dogs, Bailey and Bear, and a cat, Wendy, with her fiance.

Please welcome Autumn.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience applauds) - Hello, (laughs) I want to first thank you all for coming today and for the opportunity to speak on behalf of my classmates.

Today is a huge accomplishment for us.

We have put blood, sweat, and tears into getting this degree to start our careers as licensed veterinary technicians, or as we like to call ourselves, veterinary nurses.

This journey to get to today has not been easy.

We have had one and a half years of virtual learning due to COVID, which was hard, but we got it done.

We had 30 weeks of clinical rotations, where we had the opportunity to develop our skills so that we'd be ready for the real world.

Looking back over the past three years, we have come a long way, from our first semester, learning anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology to anesthetizing patients on clinicals.

We have learned so much and have gained so many technical skills.

One of the most important things about this career is to never give up.

I have a brief story I'd like to tell you all.

I remember after the first week or so of the program back in 2019, crying to my mom because I was, one, extremely homesick, and two, sure that I was setting myself up for failure.

The program was very intimidating at the beginning, and I wasn't sure how I was gonna manage it all.

I remember my mom telling me, "It's your decision to stay in school, Autumn."

Needless to say, I did not drop out, and I stuck it out, as I'm here today.

(laughs) Of course, things to easier over time, but this program was hard.

I was so afraid of failing, but I always gave it my all, and now I'm speaking in front of you all.

For the past three years, when times got tough, I just kept telling myself, "Don't give up."

I think the motto of not giving up can be connected to many aspects of veterinary medicine.

Veterinary medicine is a difficult and demanding field.

It is a lot of hard work, emotionally, physically, and mentally.

It is important to take care of yourself and practice self-care.

Burnout and compassion fatigue are such a huge problem in veterinary medicine, which unfortunately leads to the high rate of suicide in our field.

I hope veterinary medicine can become a less draining field in the near future, and if you're struggling, please reach out, we and your patients need you.

We need to do better to support our colleagues and to educate the general public to stop this troubling trend.

That being said, I hope to see a change in veterinary medicine.

In my lifetime, I would love for all veterinary technicians to legally be referred to as veterinary nurses.

There is so much of the general public that doesn't know what a veterinary technician does, but they would have somewhat of an idea of what a veterinary nurse would do.

However, we have a long way to go until they fully understand what our job means and what we do.

I would also like to see a shift where we, excuse me, where we become a field where less burnout and compassion fatigue occurs.

Maybe this stems from veterinary nurses commonly being undervalued and underpaid.

Hopefully in my lifetime, we will get the recognition we deserve.

I obviously love this field and what I do, and I'm very excited to start my career, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about what the future of veterinary medicine will be in the coming years.

Veterinary technicians stay in the field for an average of seven years, and I hope that there is a change in that statistic in the next few years, and I also hope that I don't become a statistic and can love my career choice up until retirement.

I want to thank you all again for coming today and allowing me to speak.

Thank you for all the instructors and staff on the clinic floor that helped us get here.

Like I said, today is such a big day for us and we are all so glad to be able to celebrate in person together with all our loved ones.

Becoming a veterinary nurse has been the hardest, yet the best thing I have ever done, and it is truly a dream come true.

I want to thank my loved ones for supporting me these last three years, as I would not have been able to get through it without you guys.

I love you guys.

Lastly, I wish all my classmates the best of luck as they begin their careers.

I know you will all be wonderful veterinary nurses.

Thank you, and congratulations, Class of 2022, Go Green.

(audience cheers) (audience applauds) - Thank you, Autumn.

At this time, I would like to invite Lauren Tally Warshawski to deliver commencement remarks to her fellow veterinary nursing graduates.

Lauren is a nontraditional student and a full-time single mother to one son.

During her time as a student in the Veterinary Nursing Program, Lauren served on several committees, including the Student Chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, the University Academic Hearing Board, the CVM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and the Spring 2021 Planning Committee, which focused on bringing students back to campus safely during the pandemic.

Lauren also participated in meetings with Veterinary Wellness Initiative, and served as a mentor for students at the Detroit International Academy's School of Biomedical and Veterinary Science.

In addition to her Bachelor of Science degree, she is simultaneously pursuing a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion in veterinary medicine from Purdue University, offered by Michigan State University's Office of Admissions, Student Life, and Inclusivity.

Lauren also holds a bachelor's degree in Communications from Oakland University.

Outside of academics, Lauren serves on her son's elementary school's PTO as the Volunteer Coordinator and as the Robotics Assistant Coach.

She has two mastiff mixes canines, one who is a canine blood donor here at MSU, whose donations have saved countless other canines.

Please welcome Lauren Tally Warshawski.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Good afternoon.

What an exciting day and time for all of us here today.

Whether you are here experiencing a significant life-propelling moment and preparing for the next steps in your life, or you're here supporting a friend or family member, welcome to you all.

It's a very big honor to have been voted by my peers to speak today.

My name is Lauren Tally Warshawski.

Life is tricky, I'm gonna follow suit, and I didn't know they were all gonna talk about this.

But as we grow up, we are guided to find a way to be successful in life.

That may include furthering our education, getting married, buying houses, or having children, a so-called typical progression of life.

However, our roads and paths can change unexpectedly.

Three years ago, I was a married, stay-at-home mom.

Today, I am here, a 36-year-old single full-time mom, full-time nontraditional student receiving my second bachelor's degree and preparing for my clinical clerkships this summer on the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine floor.

I never thought I'd say those words.

I have pursued a lifelong passion.

(audience applauds) I have pursued a lifelong passion, personal goal, and what I expect to be hopefully, again, not a statistic, but a lifelong, fulfilling career.

To say that my personal and professional lives have changed a bit over the last few years is an understatement.

When I became a stay-at-home mom, now almost seven years ago, I thought my educational days were over, being an MSU Spartan and in the veterinary field at all were just something I dreamt of as a little girl.

Then, while things continued to change around me, I took the steps and invested in myself to what I know now was one of the best academic and personal learning experiences I could have immersed myself in.

I made it happen, I decided it wasn't too late, and I pursued that little girl's dream.

Now, two years later, I have met and assisted brilliant doctors, world renowned, learned under respected veterinary nurses and interacted with ambitious and tenacious classmates too numerous to name.

To have goals, to try to see yourself five years, 10 years, this is always a great thing to do, but to not deviate from that plan may not be what's always best for your life.

What's most self-fulfilling?

I absolutely did not see myself being in this place I am today 10 years ago, but do I think I am where I'm supposed to be today?

Absolutely, yes, I am meant to be a veterinary nurse, and I am going to be the best veterinary nurse I can for my patients, just as I know my classmates will be.

That includes my family's furry family members, as well, and that having to initiate that quality of life talk.

I did with my parents earlier this week.

I knew when I applied to Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Nursing Program, I was applying to the best, and it surely stands up to its reputation.

Enrolling back in college after graduating 14 years ago the first time from college, not high school, was scary and intimidating, and of course, I had self doubt.

Michigan State University's veterinary programs are world renowned and hold the reputations they do for a reason.

We have been crafted, molded, and filled with veterinary medicine to our cores.

We get those nitty-gritty details in our learning, and we're expected to remember them.

But this is also why we applied to Michigan State University and why our national exam scores are among the highest in the country.

We all pursued our goals and dreams, and Michigan State pushed us to be the best we can be.

That is why we chose to come here, innovation and execution.

Do I see a veterinary nurse practitioner program in the future?

We wanted the best education under the best instructors leading the way in the field.

We are here today because we've persevered and made it through online learning, social distance learning, and finally, here we are, back in person, finishing one path, one goal.

Change and the unknown can be scary, but it definitely does not mean we shouldn't dive in headfirst.

I am beyond words proud of myself, and I am a stronger woman than I knew.

I challenge each and every one of you to do something new, and really, this applies to the non-graduates in the crowd, because I know our instructors pushed us outside our comfort zones, but step outside your comfort zone.

Do something you thought was off the table.

Push yourself beyond what you thought your limits were.

I am so thankful for my classmates and instructors, and so very, very proud of the rest of my graduating nursing class.

It was and is a privilege to share the classroom and ORs with you.

We all have accomplished so many firsts together.

We were there for each other through some very tricky times.

Always remember, grapes must be squeezed to make wine.

Diamonds form under pressure, and seeds grow in darkness.

Whenever you feel crushed, under pressure, or in darkness, a powerful place of development and transformation is within reach.

When one road ends, when one path changes, do not cry because it's over.

Do not fret thinking about the unknown.

If you dive in and squeeze every bit of knowledge, look for every lesson, and push yourself beyond what you think you are capable of, you then will not be disappointed with the result.

Congratulations to my now new colleagues on your accomplishments today, and as always, Go Green.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Thank you, Lauren.

It is now my pleasure to introduce Jolynne Judge, who has been a part of the College of Veterinary Medicine for over 40 years.

Jolynne has had an impact in countless students' lives today, and we have asked her to recite the Veterinarian Nursing's Oath with our graduates, as she will be retiring in the end of June.

(claps) (audience applauds) - Will the candidates please stand?

Please recite the oath with me.

Ready?

- [Jolynne And Graduates] I solemnly dedicate myself to aiding animals and society by providing excellent care and services for animals, by alleviating animal suffering, and by promoting public health.

I accept my obligations to practice my profession conscientiously and with sensitivity, adhering to the profession's Code of Ethics, and furthering my knowledge and competence through a commitment to lifelong learning.

I accept, as a lifelong obligation, the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

Welcome, colleagues.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Congratulations.

At this time, I would like to ask Dr. Helene Pazak and Dr. Norby to join me to introduce to you each of our DVM candidates for hooding.

I also ask Dr. Stephan Carey and Dr. Marie Hopfensperger to join me to assist with the hooding.

(quiet overlapping chattering) - Hi, this is why you're here.

I got it.

No, we just had a little bit of a shift.

A student admitted to Michigan State University's Veterinary Medical Program without a previously earned bachelor degree may earn a bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine.

The intent is to provide the student the opportunity to earn the degree in the event that a bachelor's degree is required by an institution of higher education in the pursuit of a master's or PhD degree.

We have two candidates.

In absentia is Ethan Neman, and with us today is Alyssa German, Class of 2024, go ahead.

(audience applauds) Ready?

(audience applauds) Dr. Taylor Iello.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (quiet overlapping chattering) (audience laughs) In absentia, Dr. Farhan Ali.

(audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) Dr. Terry Anders.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Shelby Babbish.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Hannah Bernard.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Chelsea Justine Bates.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Alexandria Bishop.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Emily Bosia.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] I've got this one.

Dr. Sarah Boles Shepherd.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Emma Bronder.

(audience applauds) (audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Tori Brzezinski.

(audience cheers) (audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Angelica Cates.

(audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) Dr. Alyssa Chesnick.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Madeline Chilcote.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) Dr. Patrick Andrew Cornell, with Henry.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Henry!

(audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Alison Deluca.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Kristy Donahue.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Oliva Child.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Sidney Dudley.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Hashin Dyal.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Alexandra Kate Edmonds.

(audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Announcer] Dr. Nathaniel Ernst.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Abbie Ferazi.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Courtney Farrell.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Caitlin Fider.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Delly Flower.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] In absentia, Dr. Jenna Forsythe.

(audience applauds) Dr. Diamond Garrett.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Sarah Gaye.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Emily Gibbons.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Emily!

(cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Claudia Gonzalez.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Sean Gulay.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Jennifer Greinstaff.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Jennifer!

- [Announcer] Dr. Natalie Hershenson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Announcer] Do we stop now?

(audience applauds) Dr. Margaret Lee Hahn.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Amanda Haines.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Caitlin Haydid Hilton.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Announcer] Dr. Nicole Hein.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] I'm proud of you, girl!

(audience laughs) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Lauren Houston.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Emily Gupta.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) In absentia, Dr. Ryan Hopper, though his degree will be accepted by his parents, Chuck and Catherine Hopper.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) I'll do this one, you'll do this one.

- [Audience Member] Miss you, Ryan!

(audience cheers) (quiet overlapping chattering) - [Announcer] You're next, you can go ahead.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Michael Herman.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] In absentia, Dr. Ashley Hietech.

(audience applauds) Dr. Dana Hisserd.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Megan Jameson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (announcer mumbles) - [Announcer] Dr. Jacob Jelsima.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Validia Johnson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Dr. Johnson!

(audience laughs) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Casey Joseph.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] We love you, Casey!

(audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Kyle Cantman.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Samantha Caplan Cooley.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] You did it!

Love you.

(audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Megan Keith.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Timothy Kennedy.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Joshua Kim.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience laughs) Oh, okay, all right.

(audience laughs) I'm gonna let them get them close together.

Dr. Angela Cosmyna Blake.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Breanna Marie Kraut.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience member shouts indistinctly) - [Announcer] Dr. Helena Krukawski.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Rachel Lebby.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Jennifer Louer.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Ellen Lonstein.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Amanda Letchner.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Olivia Levere.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Tim Lind.

(audience applauds) Dr. Sherry Lippert.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience members shouting indistinctly) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Shalee Lowe.

(audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Announcer] Dr. Jack Luoma.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience laughs) (audience member shouts indistinctly) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Jordan Malowitz.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Announcer] Dr. Shonda.

- [Announcer] May.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) Dr. Christopher Joseph Mean.

(audience applauds) - [Audience Member] Let's go, Chris!

- Hey, bro, I love you.

(audience laughs) - [Announcer] In absentia, Dr. Jessica Maloshe.

(audience applauds) Dr. Sarah Mett.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] We love you, boo!

- [Announcer] Dr. Cindy Malino.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience members shouting indistinctly) (audience applauds) (audience cheers) (baby squeals) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Madeline Moon Sexton.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Maddy!

- [Announcer] Dr. Anna Mohina Batson.

(audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Audience Member] Anna!

- [Announcer] Dr. Marie Negram Camancho.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Lauren Oper.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) - [Audience Member] So proud of you.

- [Announcer] Dr. Alicia O'Toole.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Amanda Pall.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Megan Peterson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Dr. Megan!

- [Announcer] Dr. Damon Placentia.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Rachel Polando.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Kristen Polser.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Paige Pomorsky.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Lindsey Porter.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] In absentia, Dr. Marie Ramirez.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) Dr. Nicole Rando.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. James Riggins, Jr. (audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience members shouting indistinctly) (audience laughs) (audience cheers) (audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Elena Rizzo.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) You're doing this one.

- [Audience Member] Yeah, Elena, I love you!

(audience laughs) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Hailey.

- [Announcer] Robson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Akshata Rora.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Abigail Chavanaugh.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (announcer whispers) - [Announcer] Dr. Joseph Scott.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Courtney Sankavitz.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Hailey Sherard.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Rachel Shiffler.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Eliza Simkins.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Molly Simpson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (quiet overlapping chattering) - [Audience Member] Go Molly!

- [Announcer] Dr. Kristen Stenkavitch.

(laughs) (audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speaker) Oh my God, here we go.

- [Announcer] Dr. Laurel Stuckey.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) (audience member shouts indistinctly) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Gabriella Nicole Teeter.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Hillary Thompson.

(audience applauds) - [Audience Member] We love you- - [Audience Member] We love you!

- [Announcer] Dr. Shelby Todd.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Sasha Toker.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Kirsten Vala.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (background noise drowns out speaker) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Nice job, Kirsten!

(audience member shouts indistinctly) - [Announcer] Congratulations, Dr. Van Den Top.

Dr. Nate Van Den Top.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Catherine Elise Winnerdam.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Shelby Wolner.

(audience applauds) - [Announcer] Dr. Andrea Weinrich.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Well done, warrior.

(audience member shouts indistinctly) (audience laughs) - [Announcer] Dr. Taylor Wells.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] You make us proud!

You're awesome!

- [Announcer] Dr. Heather Wilson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Heather!

- [Announcer] Dr. Kate Wilson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Kate, we love you!

- [Announcer] Dr. Noah Wolinsky.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] No, he has to do this one.

(audience member shouts indistinctly) - [Announcer] Dr. Brittany Wolodkin.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Go Britt!

- [Announcer] Dr. Kaley Young.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Announcer] Dr. Mitchell Zarcos.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience member shouts indistinctly) Dr. Jessica Sinchuck Peterson.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - [Audience Member] Is there a doctor in the house?

(audience laughs) (audience member shouts indistinctly) - [Announcer] I think we should have one last round of hallelujahs.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (quiet overlapping chattering) (audience cheers) - Thank you all.

- [Audience Member] We love you, Margaret!

- [Audience Member] We love you, Margaret.

- Members of the Classes of 2022, on behalf of President Stanley, who has delegated to him the authority of the state of Michigan vested in the Board of Trustees, I confer upon all of you the baccalaureate degree, certificate of completion in veterinary nursing and veterinary technology, the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine for which you have been recommended, with all the rights and distinctions to which this entitles you.

This act represents the conclusion of a great achievement.

It marks the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service to your fellow humans and the animal kingdom.

It is an achievement worthy of celebration, and we're here this afternoon to celebrate your completion of the academic program in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, congratulations again.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Dr. Olivia Child is a member of the DVM Class of 2022, and has served as Class President for the last three years.

She is proud to be a third generation Michigan State University student and a second generation veterinary student.

Following graduation, she plans to join her mother at her small clinic in St. Clair, Michigan, and eventually expand to provide equine ambulatory services.

During her time at MSU CVM, she has participated in various opportunities, including the Equine Club, the Animal Welfare Judging Team, and the summer research program.

She is very grateful to be following her dream, alongside an awesome cohort, and excited to watch her classmates bloom in their future careers, Dr. Child?

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Thank you for the introduction, Dr. Pazak.

My name is Dr. Olivia Child.

(audience cheers) Yeah, (laughs) it feels great to say, and I have had the honor of serving as the President of the DVM Class of 2022 for the past three years.

Before I get going, I want to give an enormous shout-out to the other E Board members, Dr. Noah Wolinsky, Dr. Abby Chavanaugh, Dr. Lindsey Porter, and all of our class committee chairs for the endless work they've put in behind the scenes to keep this ship moving forward every day.

(audience laughs) You're all appreciated more than you know, and it's been a pleasure working with you.

Now, when I say "keep the ship moving forward," I'm sure we can all agree that sometimes forward was in more of a zigzag than a straight line.

We've all heard it said 100 times now, but this class truly faced an unprecedented level of hardships in our veterinary education, which we all had to learn how to navigate together.

That's why I wanted to take the time today to share the story of one of my biggest role models, someone who experienced similarly unexpected hardships in vet school, but ultimately became a brilliant veterinarian due to her persistence, ambition, and resilience.

Dr. Robin Limberg, DVM, who's somewhere over here, I saw her earlier, is a 1994 graduate from the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

She sat in the same seats as us and walked the same graduation stage 28 years ago, feeling just as excited and terrified as many of us are right now, but her path to this point was definitely not a straight line, either.

She actually failed out of her first year of the program, all because she couldn't pass one specific professor's exams.

She wasn't gonna let that stop her, though.

She made plans to return to vet school to give it another try, but before she could do that, she developed an unexpected medical condition that would alter life as she knew it.

Dr. Robin began experiencing inner ear pain and hearing loss at the age of 22, which numerous doctors were unable to explain.

One of them even told her that she must be faking it to get out of taking her final exams.

Eventually, she found a specialist who diagnosed her with Cogan's Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that attacks the cells of the inner ear.

By the time she returned to vet school, she had become completely deaf.

This meant that she was not only learning the language of medical jargon that we all struggled with back in our first and second years, she was doing that while actively relearning how to communicate using sign language.

Being the first-ever deaf student at MSU CVM, this was also a hardship for her instructors, who did not all know how to adapt their teachings to work for her.

Nobody knew at first how to seamlessly incorporate her sign language interpreters in the classroom or on the clinic floor.

In fact, she carried her own lamp to her radiology classes so that she had enough light to see her interpreter while the rest of the class viewed X-ray films in the dark.

Despite the learning curve that everyone involved had to face, Dr. Robin ultimately graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and her experience paved the way for several future hard of hearing DVM students to have an education that worked best for them.

She went on to become a very successful general practitioner, practice owner, and overall pillar of her community, despite the many barriers that could have stopped her along the way.

In case you haven't caught on yet, she also became a wonderful mother, who inspired her daughter to follow in her footsteps, no matter what challenges may arise.

I share this story not just to brag about my mom, although I'm sure many of you know I do love to do that, but to show how successful you can become, despite any variety of obstacles that try to get in your way.

Perhaps you've been able to draw some parallels between her unprecedented vet school experience and ours.

Even though she didn't know I was mentioning her in my speech today, my mom shared a few graduation thoughts that I want you all to hear, too.

Here's what she said, "When I think of your class, I think of the amazing adaptability and resilience you have all shown, going through challenges that no other class can imagine.

With being the first to use the new curriculum model, as well as the challenges of the pandemic, you have all already proven yourselves capable of succeeding in truly challenging situations.

Take that passion and energy with you moving forward, regardless of what your career paths are, and you will be amazing."

I don't know about you guys, but hearing those words from someone with her experience is incredibly encouraging for me.

It might be hard to imagine yourself as a confident, independent doctor right now, but I want you to look around and remind yourself that despite every obstacle you've faced, you made it here, and you, from four years ago, would be so proud of where you are today.

Thank you all for supporting each other through this experience, teaching each other along the way, and truly becoming the family that we all needed over the past four years.

Remember these people and these moments, and know that you can always come back to them whenever you need it most.

Before I sign off from my class duties for the last time, I want to teach you all one sign, which is the one for congratulations, because dang, do we deserve it.

(audience laughs) (audience cheers) Now get out there and get going, wherever your path may lead, and here's to being day one ready, (audience laughs) for whatever the heck comes next, congratulations, doctors.

(audience cheers) (audience applauds) (background noise drowns out speakers) - Thank you, Dr. Child.

We will now proceed to administer the veterinarian's oath.

I invite Dr. Dee to lead us.

Will the graduates please stand, and we will recite the oath together.

It can be found in the back of your commencement program.

- Thanks.

Doctors, repeat with me, please.

- [Dee And Graduates] Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society, through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

- Congratulations, doctors.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Thank you, Dr. Dee.

(audience cheers) Please be seated.

Dr. Erin Howard is our MVMA president.

She's a 2009 graduate of Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

She began practicing as a mixed animal veterinarian, but now focuses on small ruminant medicine, and is the medical director for the Veterinary Technology Program at Baker College on the Jackson campus.

When she isn't working, she tries to keep up with her three boys, two crazy cats, and an extremely patient husband, while being an active runner.

Dr. Howard, please come to the podium and welcome your new colleagues to the profession.

(audience applauds) - Hello, you all made it to today, wow, wow.

I'm having flashbacks, and they're awesome, okay?

So I am the current president of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, and I'm very, very honored to be a part over your very momentous day, and I really would like to thank the college and the dean for inviting me to get to come speak with you.

And I know that I am one of the very last things standing between you and the end, so it will be brief, I promise.

(audience laughs) So on behalf of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, I'd really like to congratulate both the doctorate of veterinary medicine students here, now graduates, and the veterinary nursing students for completions of your programs, right?

Again, this day is monumental, right?

You have many reasons to celebrate.

The MVMA is here to give you support, not only during your career, but someday, when retirement happens, like, yeah, right, okay, we'll support you then, too.

So during this time, we're gonna be with you and help you collaborate on improving the health of animals and protecting human health in the state of Michigan, and if you don't remain here, that's fine, just visit.

But I encourage you, wherever your travels take you, to join your local VMA or state VMA so that you can continue to have that source of connection and support.

I'd like to think of our veterinary profession and community as a large family.

We are filled with individuals who are compassionate, driven, empathetic, and have the desire to do something larger than themselves for the betterment of others.

Like a family, we are loyal and sometimes we bicker.

Oh, trust me, we do.

Who has siblings, me, okay?

But we are fiercely protective of one another, and we would go to the ends of the Earth for each other.

I'm so excited to welcome all of you into our family, and this day is for you.

As everyone has said before, hug and thank your family members and all of those who have helped you get to this day.

And in parting, my wishes to you are that you will always remember that you are never alone.

You are now a veterinarian or a veterinary nurse.

You are a very important member of one of the best medical professions on earth, in my opinion, and you are always a Spartan.

So don't let me down here, Go Green!

- [Audience Members] Go White!

- Go Green!

- [Audience Members] Go White!

- Go Green!

- [Audience Members] Go White!

- Thank you.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) - Thank you, Dr. Howard.

I would like to thank our captioner, Andrea Kliber, and our American sign language interpreters, Amber Dean and Vernal Allan.

(audience applauds) Thank you.

I also would like to thank the MSU CVM Admissions, Student Life, Inclusivity and Wharton Center for Performing Arts personnel for planning this joyous celebration.

(audience applauds) Today, you will join an elite group of over 75 veterinarians and approximately 1,300 nurses who preceded you at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine since the formation of this college over 100 years ago.

While you may travel far from East Lansing, this college is a special place that connects all of us, as Dr. Howard just said.

Do not forget about your MSU roots.

Do not forget your classmates and colleagues, your professors, veterinary nurses, staff members that contributed to your education and to your future careers.

Veterinary medicine, I have the same opinion as Dr. Howard, is one of the most trusted among all the health professions.

Always protect and enhance the reputation of this college and our profession.

Give thanks to your parents, extended families, and spouses, significant others, friends who supported, helped you achieve this goal.

They are all extremely proud of you, and so are we, all of us in the college.

On behalf of the staff and faculty, we absolutely wish you the very, very best in your careers.

Lastly, to each of you new doctors and nurses, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, the MSU Administration, the College of Veterinary Medicine, congratulations and best wishes.

Please join us singing "MSU Shadows," and then remain at your seats for the recessional.

Students can join family members for reception in the grand foyer following this celebration.

This is on the second level of the Wharton Center, immediately following the program, thank you.

(audience applauds) (slow orchestral music) (audience applauds) (upbeat orchestral music) (audience cheers) (upbeat orchestral music continues) (audience cheers)