The skies on the evening of Thursday, June 14—the night of Internal Medicine’s Residency Graduation—trembled with excitement overhead Hancher Auditorium in synchronicity with the tenor of the occasion.

As guests arrived, they were greeted by the warm, golden hour light of the windowed lobby, and an invitation to have their photo taken with friends, family, colleagues, and fellow graduates before moving to the second floor for the main event.

 

Shortly before the program began, residents gathered on the grand staircase for the class of 2024’s group photo.

The Stanley Café served as the setting for the evening’s dinner and program, with an appetizer spread near the bar with cheeses and crudites for grazing while mingling.

As guests took their seats, Vice Chair of Education and Residency Program Director, Manish Suneja, MD, opened the program with poetic reflections on the graduates’ time in the Internal Medicine Residency program. Interim Chair and DEO for the department, Isabella Grumbach, MD, PhD, created a video to be played in her absence, complete with photos from her own residency graduation. Vice Chair for Clinical Programs, Kim Staffey, MD, also welcomed guests at the top of the program.

Guests were released table by table to plate their meals from a buffet of elegant options while several more video dedications played, including those from University of Iowa President Barb Wilson, Hawkeye Football Coach Kirk Ferentz, and a special cameo from recent University of Iowa graduate and now-WNBA superstar, Caitlin Clark.

Then came the main event: diplomas and awards for the resident graduates. Suneja gave personalized comments about each person before posing for photos and then they, in turn, offered their own brief reflections on their experiences.

First, the preliminary residents, those who spend a year training with Internal Medicine before heading to a different specialty, were recognized.

Departing Preliminary Residents

Oladipupo Anibire Ophthalmology	Donavon Dahmer Ophthalmology	Marshall Henrie Ophthalmology
Kate Holder Dermatology	Paige Noble Ophthalmology	Adetayo Oladele-Ajose Ophthalmology
Zac Richards Ophthalmology	Zach Skopec Dermatology

Next, it was time to recognize the combined Medicine-Psychiatry resident and categorical graduates. Suneja announced where each graduate would head next, some of whom would be staying on at Iowa for subspecialty fellowship or as Chief Residents or Hospitalists.

Graduating Medicine Psychiatry Residents and Categorical Residents

Lola Saliu (Med-Psych)	Mazen Aiche	Rachel Anderson
Alex Cuskey	Jonathan Day	Solanus de la Serna
McKenna Eisenbeisz	Marie Finkbeiner	Daniel Goering
Jeff Johnson	Patrick Mallea	Luke Morrey
Truman Nguyen	Alex Paschke	Sruti Prathivadhi-Bhayankaram
Aditya Ravindra	Michael Sauer	Michael Shlossman
Sarah Van Dorin	Madalyn Walsh	Tong Yu
Lauren Zabel	Jeremy Zhang

Residents can also choose to enter distinction pathways, the broad options reflecting the spectrum of careers the program prepares trainees to enter, whether toward one as a Hospitalist or in primary care or as a clinician educator. Residents who completed these pathways were photographed alongside associate program directors and directors of these pathways Andrew Bryant, MD, Yana Zemkova, MD, Justin Smock, MD, or Krista Johnson, MD.

To close the ceremony, awards and recognitions were offered: first, one to each of the 2023-2024 Chief Residents, Taylor Becker, MD; Alex Garza, MD; Reed Johnson, MD; and Kathie Zhang, MD.

A video tribute to the Chief Residents had also been prepared.

As guests finished their desserts, they got one more treat, a recording of the transition of power to the new Chief Residents, known this year as “Chief Resident Bootcamp.”

 

Then, awards for the Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award, the Amarchi Anukam Humanism Award, and the Outstanding Resident of the Year Award, each as determined by the residents themselves, were presented by video to surprise each of the recipients.

Outstanding Faculty Teacher of the Year Award winner, Katie Harris, MD, MME, was unable to attend the night’s festivities, so she was notified in advance of the celebration and accepted the award via video:

The Amarchi Anukam Humanism Award was presented to Alex Cuskey, MD.

And finally, the Outstanding Resident of the Year Award was presented to Jeremy Zhang, MD.

The evening closed with further remarks and thanks from Suneja. From there, guests slowly dispersed, strolling out of the venue, pausing for more group photos, and savoring the weight of their accomplishments.

Congratulations, class of 2024!