The Wake Forest University School of Medicine Department of PA Studies recognized 78 new Master of Medical Science (MMS) graduates at its annual Hooding and Commencement Ceremony on May 16.
The ceremony in Wait Chapel opened with an invocation by Reverend Michelle M. Nicolle, PhD, BCC, Chaplain for Innovation Quarter. Sarah O’Neal, MS, MPAS, PA-C, Associate Program Director for the Boone campus, welcomed graduates, family and friends to the event and introduced Dr. Ebony Boulware, Dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Chief Science Officer and Vice Chief Academic Officer of Advocate Health.
In her remarks, Dean Boulware praised the graduates for their hard work and commitment to community service and reminded them to stay focused on their “North Star.”
“That North Star is your deep sense of purpose, your humanity, your commitment to serve Boulware said. “That’s what led you here, and it’s going to carry you forward. Trust that North Star. Let it lead you to treat every patient with dignity and compassion. Let it remind you that differences are not obstacles – they are opportunities to listen, to learn, and to lift one another up.”
Allie Wilson, Senior PA-C in Emergency General Surgery at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, delivered the keynote address. Wilson serves as a preceptor and clinical adjunct faculty member for the Department of PA Studies. She was named Preceptor of the Year by the Wake PA Class of 2019 and 2023 Preceptor of the Year by the American Academy of PAs and PA Education Association.
Wilson encouraged the graduates to reflect on their successes and ready themselves to help patients who are willing to trust them with their health and lives.
“That trust is sacred,” Wilson said. “It is something you honor through presence. Through empathy. Through humility. To truly care for someone means seeing him or her first as a person, not a diagnosis. It means listening, not just hearing. It means holding space for fear, confusion, and hope – frequently all at once. It means sometimes having difficult conversations when your voice shakes and your heart races. But it also means remembering what a privilege it is to walk alongside someone in their time of need.”
