MGH Institute's largest graduating class includes Charlestown residents

(Photo courtesy MGH Institute of Health Professions)

MGH Institute of Health Professions Board of Trustees Chair George Thibault, MD (center), and Dean of Students Carolyn Locke, MS, congratulate one of the 423 students who graduated from the Charlestown Navy Yard school on May 10 at the Hynes Convention Center.

The following is from the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

Eight Charlestown residents were among the 423 students who graduated from MGH Institute of Health Professions on May 10.

More than 2,000 family and friends attended the Charlestown health sciences graduate school’s commencement ceremonies at the Hynes Convention Center.

The Charlestown graduates were:

Vanessa Bates, Master of Science in Nursing
Stephanie Bayer, Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Natalie DuBois, Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology
Amy McDonough, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Medical Imaging
Jencie McDavid, Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology
Sarah Steele, Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology
Kristina Stevens, Doctor of Physical Therapy

Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Institute of Health and Social Justice for Partners In Health, delivered the keynote address. In her speech, she spoke of how the new graduates could play a key role in how to improve health care throughout the United States and across the globe.

“The lack of access, in my view, is about the silos we have created—between rich and poor, black and white, nurses and doctors, patients and providers. What is needed to break these silos and to bring the best of our collective strength, competencies and passion is a movement for health as a basic human right,” Dr. Mukherjee said.

“My greatest hope is that you realize and act on the weight of your responsibility as one of the privileged few with a degree in higher education—whether it is in nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, or medical imaging—to liberate yourself from conventional wisdom and liberate others from suffering.”

The MGH Institute, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, currently has more than 1,100 students.
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