NYCPM Graduates Prepare for the Next Step as Class of 2026 Celebrates Commencement

Ahimon was among the members of the Class of 2026 honored during NYCPM's commencement ceremony at Alice Tully Hall on May 28. Alongside the graduating class, the ceremony also recognized residents who had completed their postgraduate training and were preparing for the next stage of their careers.

After receiving their degrees and signing their names in the physician registry, graduates would leave the school behind to head to hospitals and residency programs across the country. Before that, many found themselves reflecting on the friendships, challenges, and routines that defined their years at NYCPM.

Asked what he remembered most fondly, Abraham Hassoon recalled the moments immediately after exams.

"We used to take exams really early, like 7 a.m., before we would go to clinic," he said. "Afterward, we'd all congregate near the library and discuss how either great or poorly that went. I really loved that."

"It was a long road," said Hassoon, who will continue his training at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. "We grinded it out together. But it feels great."

Lauren Chan remembered the friendships she made. "I think it's really the people," she said. "I made really good friends here."

Chan, who will begin her residency at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, said podiatric medicine proved to be broader than she expected. "I think it's underestimated," she said. "You can go into sports medicine, dance medicine, pediatrics. There's a whole variety of populations that you can work with."

A Profession in Motion

While graduates reflected on the experiences that brought them to Lincoln Center, speakers throughout the ceremony focused on the responsibilities that lay ahead.

Touro University Provost Patricia Salkin noted that the Class of 2026 is among the first NYCPM classes to graduate since the college officially joined the Touro University system. She highlighted the students' clinical experiences through the Foot Center of New York and affiliated hospitals throughout New York City and reminded graduates that medicine is changing rapidly.

Advances in artificial intelligence and new technologies, she said, will continue to reshape healthcare, but some qualities cannot be replaced.

"They require something that cannot be automated," Salkin said. "Your judgment. Your empathy. Your ethical compass. Your ability to see the whole patient, not just the disease."

Representing NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anitha Srinivasan, MD, MPH, FACS, spoke about the impact podiatrists have on their patients' everyday lives.

"When you restore a patient's ability to walk, or relieve chronic pain, you're helping that person as a whole," she said.

"You are giving a grandmother the power to walk her grandchild," Srinivasan added. "You are able to bring respect and dignity and independence into a person's life."

The ceremony also recognized residents completing years of postgraduate training. Dr. John Giannin Perez, Trustee of the New York State Podiatric Medical Association and an NYCPM alumnus, welcomed both graduates and residents into the next stage of the profession.

"We have our NYCPM graduates who have completed four rigorous years of medical education, and we have our residents who have completed years of training caring for patients," Perez said.

Addressing the graduates directly, Perez reminded them that residency would bring a new set of challenges and opportunities.

"Welcome to the real world," he said. "Where you finally get to apply all that you've learned."

Prominent Alumna Delivers Keynote

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Irina Gelman, commissioner of health for Nassau County and a 2010 graduate of NYCPM. NYCPM Dean Dr. Michael Trepal jokingly introduced his former student and, as a resident of Nassau County, thanked her for keeping the county healthy.

Returning to her alma mater, Gelman encouraged graduates to remember the reasons they first entered medicine.

"Our Hippocratic Oath is a rite of passage for all doctors," she said. "Once you take the Hippocratic Oath, make sure that it's not a hypocritical one."

Drawing on her own career in public health, Gelman urged graduates to remain curious and continue learning throughout their careers.

"Leadership is not just about authority," she said. "It's about accountability."

American Podiatric Medical Association CEO Meghan McClelland encouraged graduates to remain involved in organized medicine and advocacy.

"You guys are amazing clinical leaders," McClelland said. "But get involved, and let your voices be heard."

Remembering a Classmate

Before degrees were conferred, the ceremony paused to remember Tanya Vohra, a member of the Class of 2026 who died before reaching graduation day.

Faculty, students, residents, family members, and guests observed a moment of silence in her honor. Vohra’s family was then invited to the stage to receive a posthumous honorary degree on her behalf and sign her name in the registry, which contains the names of NYCPM graduates dating back more than a century.

Afterward, graduates were called to the stage one by one, signing their names and crossing the stage to cheers and applause. The Hippocratic oath was then administered by Michael Trepal, DPM, FACFAS VP Academic Affairs to the graduates. Those in attendance who already hold the degree were asked to renew their oath in solidarity with the new graduates. Before the recessional, concluding remarks were delivered by class president Dr. Gloria Yun, and Class Valedictorian Dr. Maksud Oliva.