McGovern students celebrate A Week to Remember

McGovern Medical School kicked off 2019 Match Week with the second annual “A Week to Remember” reception, jointly hosted by the Alumni-Student Network and the McGovern Medical School Alumni Association.

“The Alumni Association is happy to join with the Alumni-Student Network for the second annual ‘A Week To Remember’ reception,” said Melanie Collins, MD ’91, McGovern Medical School Alumni Association President. “As alumni, we want to celebrate this special occasion with the students and hope the memories of their four years at McGovern Medical School will keep them involved in their medical school alumni association for many years to come. They have worked so hard to get to this point in their medical career, and we are all excited to raise a toast to their accomplishments. Cheers!”

A Week to Remember gives graduating fourth years one final chance to get together as a class in celebration of Match Week. Students gathered in the McGovern Medical School lobby for food and beverages before writing a letter to their future selves and commemorating the evening with photos with various props.

“Even though we had Match Day and graduation, there wasn’t really an event that was exclusively about our class being together,” said Claire Ellis, a founding member of the event. “This event is about us- classmates reuniting after being away from each other on rotations and interviews, just exclusively to celebrate all we’ve accomplished without the distraction of anything else. We thought it was a great idea to have it before all the hecticness of match week started, before we started having to worry about graduation and the future.”

Medical students build close bonds with their classmates throughout their first two years before being separated for clinicals and various interviews. A Week To Remember allows them to reconnect before the most important week of their academic careers.

“When everyone is around each other talking, mixing, and mingling, it helps quell the nerves before Match Day,” fourth-year Stephanie Ihezie said. “As you’re talking, you’ll find other people in the same boat. As qualified as many people here are, everyone is still worried if they’re going to match. Being able to talk with the class, coming back to that community, you know you’re not alone.”

Following a trip down memory lane with a slide show of photos featuring the graduating medical students, Pedro Mancias, MD, ’88  McGovern Medical School Alumni Association board member, and fourth-year class president Alex Wetzig addressed the group.

Mancias reminded the graduating class that they have worked hard to get to this point, and that they have succeeded in every part of their medical career until now, and they will continue to do so. He encouraged the students to set healthy goals to stay fresh and make sure that they make a difference in helping each patient be the best that they can be.

Wetzig capped the night by leading the students in a toast saying, “To the class of 2019, may you live as long as you want, and may you never want as long as you live.”

Link to original story can be found here.

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