Kansas City’s top university held its annual mid-year Commencement at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City. 威尼斯人娱乐城的毕业生与他们的亲人聚集在一起，参加了800多个学位的授予仪式。 霍尔家族基金会主席玛雅·阿吉雷（Mayra Aguirre）是主旨发言人。
"So as you cross the stage today, I ask that you embrace the lessons with the power of ‘and,’ trusting the process and applying anyway and lastly, owning your story," Aguirre said. “2024届的毕业生们，带着好奇和自信前进吧。 记住，无论发生什么，你都准备好了。”
在毕业生中有来自密苏里州圣约瑟夫威尼斯人娱乐城医学院的第一批校友。 该校园成立于2021年，旨在解决密苏里州，特别是农村地区严重的医生短缺问题。 该州近一半的农村县缺乏足够的医院保健服务。 With 66 medical students in the program, these first 13 graduates represent the school’s commitment to bettering the lives of Missourians.
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact these graduates can – and will – have in underserved communities, and it’s tremendous,” said 威尼斯人娱乐城校长 Mauli Agrawal. “To the St. Joseph graduates – and to all of the graduates gathered here today – I am inspired by your potential to transform lives and strengthen communities.”
圣约瑟夫校区的学生来自密苏里州各地，从小城镇到大城市，但他们都对农村医疗抱有热情。 Students like Ashley Ayers (M.D. ’24), Jessica Halla (M.D. ’24) and William Obert (M.D. ’24) are committed to making a difference in rural communities.
艾尔斯在密苏里州的库里维尔长大，亲身经历了医疗短缺，那里最近的诊所要30分钟的路程，最近的医院要45分钟的车程。 她是家里第一个学医的人，但在去海地传教时受到了这个领域的启发。 On that trip, she recognized a desperate need for medical care in underserved communities and the difference healthcare can make in people’s lives.
“I thought, ‘Wow, I really want to be a part of that,' and that’s when the gears started turning for pursuing medicine,” Ayers said. “I literally Googled ‘how to become a doctor.’”
Halla grew up in the suburb of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, but chose the St. Joseph campus because of the small class size. 她在那里的经历改变了她的一生。
“Oh my gosh, the St. Joe campus has been phenomenal,” Halla said. “It has completely sold me on the rural way of life.”
据Halla说，她对医学的兴趣始于她的祖父被诊断出患有ALS，这是一种使人衰弱的神经系统疾病。 她看到她的家人在照顾他的过程中是如何挣扎的。
“Watching that made me want to go into medicine,” she said, “to be a better educator for my patients and help them through those difficult processes.”
毕业后，艾尔斯计划在她长大的地方附近的莱克伍德大学医院攻读家庭医学住院医师。 Once she completes her residency, she wants to return to St. Joseph to practice medicine and hopefully become a docent for the medical school so she can “give back to this amazing program that has given me so much.”
奥伯特在密苏里州帕尔米拉的一个农场长大。 他追求医学的灵感来自于从事医疗保健的家庭成员，尤其是他的叔叔克里斯·克林格勒（Chris Klingele），他是密苏里州农村的一名整形外科医生。
“I wanted to go into healthcare because I looked up to those people,” Obert said. “My uncle and I got close when I was in high school, and I really want to emulate him in my life.”
他叔叔在威尼斯人娱乐城实习，所以奥伯特喜欢上了这所学校。 Obert is following his uncle’s footsteps into orthopedic surgery and hopes to eventually own a hobby farm just like him.
According to School of Medicine Dean Alex Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86), healthcare needs are especially great in rural communities. 密苏里州的平均寿命在美国各州中排名第41位，诺巴什解释说，与死亡有关的主要疾病，如高血压、肥胖和糖尿病，在农村地区的比例过高。
“That can be attributed to the insufficient number of physicians in rural populations,” Norbash said. “Across the United States, we are short tens of thousands of primary-care physicians. Tele-consultations and physician extenders help address the problem, but it’s not the same as having physicians available.”
诺巴什说，研究表明，如果你在农村环境中训练医学生和住院医生，他们就会习惯这种情况，并留在那些社区。 It’s something the school is seeing first-hand with the students at the St. Joseph campus and their enthusiasm for rural medicine.
“Even in the first year, many of the students were talking about their desire to settle down in specific rural communities in northwest Missouri,” Norbash said. “It's really heartwarming to see the student reaction. They have embraced this wholeheartedly.”