UAMS Holds Graduation Celebration for Underrepresented and Minority Students
| Graduating students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) celebrated their achievements with a May 7 ceremony hosted by the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DDEI).
Brian Gittens, Ed.D., MPA, vice chancellor for DDEI, kicked off the Underrepresented in Health Graduation Celebration by welcoming the students and congratulating them on a job well done.
“Each of you is well-qualified and trained for the field that awaits you,” he said. “While your stories are not yet finished, we collectively pause to give voice to this very important chapter of your journey.”
Brian Gittens, vice chancellor of the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, offers congratulations to the graduates.
Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health, and Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., UAMS provost and chief strategy officer, offered their best wishes to the graduates in videos that played during the ceremony. Patterson said he was grateful for the opportunity to celebrate UAMS’ underrepresented and underserved students.
“I’ve long said that diversity is our superpower at UAMS, and you are all part of that,” he said. “Your backgrounds, hometowns and all the people cheering for you on this very special day — they are all part of you, and you are very much a part of UAMS now and forever.”
Gardner said UAMS’ interprofessional education curriculum fosters collaboration and an understanding of the contributions that each health profession brings to patient care and research. She encouraged the graduates to continue to embrace a culture of learning, knowing that technology and treatments will change during the course of their careers.
“If you are able to work collaboratively and if you know how to keep learning so you can adapt and stay excited about what you do, then you will thrive,” she said.
Attendees also heard messages of congratulations from G. Richard Smith, M.D., interim dean of the College of Medicine and UAMS executive vice chancellor; Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, dean of the College of Nursing; Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health; Susan Long, Ed.D., dean of the College of Health Professions; Antiño Allen, Ph.D., associate dean of the UAMS Graduate School; and Cindy Stowe, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy.
Stowe said the ceremony was a testament to the students’ dedication as well as to their families’ unwavering support.
“I’m so proud of each and every one of you,” she told the graduates. “You each have a powerful story of success and accomplishment stemming from your willingness to embrace the adversity and struggles that this significant milestone entails.”
The event featured speeches from several students who reflected on their journeys at UAMS. Paige Jones-Brooks, a member of the College of Medicine’s Class of 2023, said she arrived on campus not knowing anyone but that she quickly found support from the DDEI staff. She credited that support with helping her during times of academic and personal struggle as she made her way through medical school.
“Without a doubt, I know that DDEI has had a part in the success I’ve enjoyed both in and out of the classroom,” she said.
Steffen Lewis, a member of the inaugural cohort of the Doctor of Nursing Practice nurse anesthesia program in the College of Nursing, described moving to Little Rock from Louisiana in 2020 during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lewis, a father of two boys, said he had to transition from being a full-time ICU nurse to being a full-time student with no income. Thanks to scholarships and other financial aid, Lewis was able to complete the program and obtain his degree.
Graduates and faculty members gather during a reception held after the ceremony.
Lewis also highlighted the importance of mentorship, noting that he has helped others who are interested in pursuing nurse anesthesia careers. He thanked DDEI staff members for being cheerleaders and mentors to the students they serve.
“You all have gone above and beyond to keep us engaged and help us reach our potential as leaders,” he said.
Rhonda Mattox, M.D., president of the Arkansas Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Association and a nationally recognized mental health expert, delivered a keynote speech that focused on how to handle adversity and become a positive example for others.
Mattox told a childhood story about a time when she made up a rap song to mock another girl about her attire — and ended up with a pair of black eyes as a result. In a conversation with her mother after the incident, she learned not to make fun of people for circumstances that they can’t change.
She received a second lesson when her mother made her go to school the next day, telling Mattox that she needed to be able to get back up whenever life knocked her down.
Mattox told the graduates that they also have endured some “black eyes” and that they shouldn’t be ashamed of those difficult periods in their lives. She encouraged them to learn from their experiences and be willing to share those lessons to help others who might be struggling.
“Do not take your stories with you to the grave,” she said. “Your stories are someone else’s vaccines. They will help other people get through their trying times.”
Mattox concluded by urging the graduates to become champions for better health care, improved access and expanded opportunities for their patients.
“What you can do is even greater than what you believe,” she said.