51ĀŅĀ×

The 51ĀŅĀ× Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine honored the resilience and promise of its graduating students at the annual Inclusion Celebration, held May 9, at Heritage Hall in Athens. Sponsored by the Student National Medical Association, the event paid tribute to students who have overcome significant barriers to earn their medical degrees and spotlighted the potential for graduates to use their life experiences and skills to make a positive impact on health care.

The ceremony featured remarks from faculty, students and a pioneering leader in osteopathic medicine, Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O. She became the first Black woman to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school when she joined the 51ĀŅĀ× Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1993. During her keynote address, Ross-Lee, a longtime champion for health equity and access, called upon the graduates to meet the challenges of modern medicine with wisdom, pride and vision.

ā€œBecoming a physician is not just a career choice, it is a high calling with awesome responsibilities,ā€ Ross-Lee said. ā€œFrom this day forward, it is an immutable part of who you are and who you will always beā€”like your race, ethnicity or genderā€¦no other profession is so honored.ā€

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Ross-Leeā€™s message was framed by what she called the ā€œFour Beā€™sā€: Be Good, Be Wise, Be Proud, and Be Visionaryā€”each reflecting a deep call to action for future osteopathic physicians to confront challenges related to access, cost and quality in health care and to lead the profession with both skill and compassion.

Heritage College Chief Inclusion Officer Tanisha King, Ph.D., emphasized the importance of honoring one's background while committing to the highest standards of patient care.

ā€œAs a first-generation or underrepresented physician, it is imperative that you keep these teachings with you,ā€ King said. ā€œYour patients deserve a physician that will treat them in the way in which the oath you take states: with dignity and respect.ā€

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A highlight of the celebration came from the words of Class of 2025 graduate Shamone Gore Panter, D.O., who shared her deeply personal journey from hardship to healing, underscoring the strength that comes from lived experience.

ā€œIf someone had told the 7-year-old girl living in a Massachusetts motel room on New Yearā€™s Eve in 1986 that she would one day stand before a room full of graduating doctorsā€”many who look like her, come from where she came from, and carry the same generational weightā€”she wouldnā€™t have believed it,ā€ Gore Panter said. ā€œBut that girl was me.ā€

In her address, she recounted a life shaped by trauma, perseverance and ultimately, purpose. Her words celebrated not only her journey, but those of her fellow graduates.

ā€œOur presence in these white coats didnā€™t come easily. For many of us, it came with scarsā€¦in all of it, I came to understand that my pain didnā€™t disqualify me from medicineā€”it prepared me for it,ā€ she said. ā€œBecause some of us donā€™t just learn medicine from textbooksā€”we live it. We know what itā€™s like to be misdiagnosed, dismissed or made to feel invisible. And thatā€™s why we will change this system. I didnā€™t choose medicine because it was easy. I chose it because Iā€™ve seen what happens when people like us donā€™t have a seat at the table.  I chose family medicineā€”and osteopathic medicine specificallyā€”because D.O.s donā€™t just treat symptoms. We treat people. We see bodies, yesā€”but we also see stories.ā€

She concluded with a call to reshape the future of health care by bringing humanity back into the profession.

ā€œWe are not statistics. We are not ā€˜exceptions.ā€™ We are the long-overdue correction to a system that has failed too many for too longā€¦weā€™ve walked through fire to get hereā€”and fire didnā€™t destroy us. It refined usā€¦we are the future of medicine. We are the bridge between science and soul. We are what healing looks like when it grows from struggle.ā€

The Inclusion Celebration recognized the achievements of students overcoming obstacles but also reaffirmed the collegeā€™s commitment to train the next generation of osteopathic physicians.

As Ross-Lee concluded, ā€œYou hold the future in your hands.ā€

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