Just before crossing the stage, Adam Eckburg, ’25 MD, MBA, reflected on his earliest days at Feinberg. Graduating alongside the Class of 2025, he said he felt profound gratitude for those who had helped him reach this moment.

“I admittedly didn’t come to medical school to make the best friends of my life, but I quickly did,” said Eckburg, who will go on to complete his residency in emergency medicine at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. “Those people who have been by my side these last five years have both personally and professionally helped me grow in so many ways.”

Feinberg honored the MD Class of 2025 during the medical school’s 166th commencement ceremony held in the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier on May 19. This year’s commencement began with remarks from Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean, who welcomed graduating medical students, faculty, family, and friends to the ceremony.

You are entering a brave new world of managing priorities, cultural divisiveness, and a society struggling to learn how to better engage with each other,” Neilson said. “A world where keeping people of all walks of life as healthy as we can becomes the collective responsibility of science and the medical profession.”

Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty, PhD, MBA, welcomed the new graduates to the Northwestern alumni community.

“I am keenly aware of the effort and determination that it took each of you to arrive at this moment, not just during your years at Northwestern but over a lifetime of work,” Hagerty said. “I commend you on your success.

Robert Grossman, MD, dean of New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, delivered the commencement address, reminding the graduates that their hard work must continue.

“Seize every opportunity that comes your way and continue to study intensely,” Grossman said. “Become an authority on something and you will find it captivating and rewarding. Choose what engages you, rather than what others think is popular or prestigious.”

Marcos Duran, ’25 MD, delivered the senior class message and celebrated the class of 2025’s compassion and commitment to patient care.

“The white coat you wear is a symbol of safety and hope,” said Duran, who will soon head to the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education in Arizona for his residency in internal medicine. “Each time you decide to truly listen to your patient and every moment you spend seeing the person beyond the disease, you demonstrate that the MD we earned today transcends all academics, diagnostics, and medication. That it is, above all, compassion.”

To end the ceremony, Neilson led the new graduates in reciting the Declaration of Geneva, the modern declaration of the physician’s oath, which they took as first-year medical students on Founders’ Day.

Thirty-two graduating students were inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Many students received Latin honors for their academic achievement and/or completion of a second degree while pursuing their medical degree: 22 students received Magna Cum Laude in Scientia Experimentali, and nine received Cum Laude in Scientia Experimentali. Eight students graduated Summa Cum Laude, seven graduated Magna Cum Laude, and seven graduated Cum Laude.

Many also took advantage of Feinberg’s dual-degree programs: 13 graduates earned MBAs, 17 earned master’s degrees in public health, and eight completed PhDs through the Medical Scientist Training Program.

“I am so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” said Kai Brady, ’25 MD, who will begin her residency in anesthesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the fall. “This is a dream I’ve had for the last 10 years, so finally being able to have that honor of calling myself a doctor is amazing.”

For Mo Kinsinger, ’25 MD, years of training and mentorship at Feinberg have laid the foundation for her residency in child neurology at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

“I feel really honored to be able to make a difference in the lives of patients during my time here,” Kinsinger said. “It feels like the end of a long road and the beginning of another. I’m really grateful.”

In addition to the MD Class of 2025 commencement ceremony, Feinberg held ceremonies across the campus for other programs, including the Physician Assistant (PA), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Master of Science in Genetic Counseling, and Masters of Prosthetics and Orthotics (MPO).

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