Congratulations, Class of 2026!
Congratulations to the Class of 2026 who received their degrees from the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine in its 76th Commencement Ceremony held at the Mondavi Center on May 22nd. Among those graduating were 148 DVM students, 36 residents from the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and 18 candidates in the Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine program.
Associate Dean Karl Jandrey provided opening remarks to the packed seats and welcomed the three groups before the processional of all graduates. Dean Mark Stetter gave a warm welcome to the graduates, friends and families in attendance and introduced members of the stage party. He then introduced Dr. Joie Watson, associate dean of Professional Education, as commencement speaker.
Watson, who is retiring this year, shared a humorous and moving story from her first month as a veterinarian at a two-doctor practice in southern California. From that experience and others throughout her career, Watson had a few select pieces of sage advice for the graduates. Before she began, she apologized for the ‘F’ words to follow.
After some good laughs from a filled Mondavi audience, Watson began: “First, FOCUS on listening, always seek to understand first before responding,” she said. “Next, be willing to FLEX your position, allow change to better solve problems. And the last ‘F’ word, FOLLOW THROUGH, you have great ideas and plans. Keep bringing your positive passion.”
In closing, Watson urged graduates to remember that everyone needs a mentor and anyone can be a mentor.
“All of you are mentors—to early year students in the hospital or to undergraduates in our access to care clinics—and as practicing veterinarians, wherever you find yourselves, you will be in demand as a mentor to many young people aspiring to your path,” she said. “In this world so enamored with artificial intelligence, bring your authentic human intelligence to every day. Help maintain the connections that are so central to the human experience. And remember, as a mentor you don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be present.”
Congratulations Class of 2026!
Watson then presented the 2026 Weill School of Veterinary Medicine Medal to David Lee. This is the highest honor for a graduating DVM student in recognition of outstanding academic and clinical performance.
Dr. Michael Mison, director of the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, presented house officers with their certificates. With approximately 140 residents, interns and fellows located at 10 different sites; outstanding faculty mentors and more than 50,000 animal patient visits to the VMTH annually, the Resident Training Program at UC Davis is the largest and one of the best postgraduate veterinary clinical training programs in the world.
“Our Residents are major contributors to UC Davis’s outstanding clinical teaching, service and clinical research programs and are the core of tomorrow’s academic and practice leaders,” Mison said. “Without our house officers, realization of our goals would not be possible, and so this is our opportunity to recognize them for what they contribute.”
Dr. Gabrielle Maier, Vice Chair of the Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine program announced the degree candidates while Chancellor Gary S. May conferred the degrees.
Provost Mary Croughan offered her congratulations to the newest members of the Aggie alumni family and talked about her special relationship with the veterinary school. Now a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, Croughan received permission as an undergraduate from the veterinary school faculty to take the entire MPVM curriculum.
“That curriculum—delivered by brilliant faculty—provided exceptional preparation for my Ph.D. program in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University,” Croughan said. “And, more importantly, it enabled me to help guide the campus and community response to COVID-19 when I arrived as provost in 2020.”
Croughan knows first-hand the compassionate care delivered by the students and veterinary teams at UC Davis.
“You have taken care of my family members,” she said. “Lily, a talkative Tortie with hyperthyroid and IBD; Jamie, a dilute calico with cancer; Namiko, a black lab who gave birth to 27 puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind and now has arthritis; and Murphy, a Tobiano Paint pony with attitude. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Dr. Gina Davis served as faculty speaker and reflected on themes of hopes and dreams while sharing a bit of her career journey.
“Our profession is amazing, vibrant, and alive. You can remake yourself over and over again,” she said. “Nothing is impossible and nothing has to be out of reach. You have an amazing family of clinicians and staff here at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine who love and care for you, and who will help you reach all of those milestones so that you can truly have your DREAM CAREER.”
Davis presented the student speaker, Trang Lee, who kept the audience entertained and thoroughly engaged.
“I have witnessed firsthand just how incredibly smart each of my classmates is,” Lee said. “I have spent the last few years admiring just how big their brains are. Sometimes I can even feel their brain waves pulsing at me! That’s just science. I bet you can feel it too!”
She continued: “Your hearts are as big as, if not even bigger, than your brains. It has been a privilege to be in the presence of the care you give to those around you.”
After the conferring of degrees, Dr. Peter Bowie, president of the California Veterinary Medical Association, led the new DVMs and others in the audience in reciting the Veterinarian’s Oath.
Congratulations, Class of 2026!
Watch the livestream recording