Florida State University College of Medicine celebrates graduation of 121 new doctors ready to begin careers across the nation
Tallahassee, Florida -The sound of Sir Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” echoed through Ruby Diamond Concert Hall on Saturday morning as 121 students from the Florida State University College of Medicine took their final steps as medical students and their first as physicians. What began years ago with anatomy labs, sleepless nights, clinical rotations and uncertainty ended with applause, proud families and a new title carried out of the auditorium: doctor.
The ceremony marked a major milestone not only for the graduates of the Class of 2026, but also for seven students completing the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences – Bridge to Clinical Medicine program. Within days, those graduates will begin the next chapter of their own medical journeys as members of the incoming M.D. Class of 2030.
The atmosphere inside the hall moved seamlessly between celebration and reflection. While commencement ceremonies often follow a predictable script, this one shifted tone when Dr. Anthony Speights, senior associate dean for medical education and academic affairs, stepped away from the podium traditions that usually define graduation speeches. Wearing a wireless microphone and turning to face the students directly on stage, Speights spoke to the graduating class with the familiarity of someone who had watched them evolve over four demanding years.
“On to the life lesson of the day. Your last, and hopefully best, lesson from me,” Speights said.
His speech drifted between humor and honesty, touching on generational differences, changing attitudes toward medicine and the emotional cost physicians often carry throughout their careers. Speights reflected on his own Generation X upbringing, describing a culture that prized endurance above balance. He recalled an era of latchkey kids, MTV, early cell phones and medical residency programs where 100-hour workweeks were accepted as normal.
For many older physicians, long shifts and exhaustion were worn almost like badges of honor. But Speights acknowledged that those expectations came with consequences. Doctors frequently sacrificed personal lives, emotional well-being and family time in pursuit of their careers, leading many toward burnout.
Then came his pivot.
“Now that I’ve spent so much time over the years telling you how different your generation is than mine as if it’s a bad thing, let me tell you why your generation is different than mine, in all the ways I admire.
“You’ve learned to support each other in ways our generation never did. You’ve come to understand the need for balance in work and life.
“You’ve heard me say many times, often in what sounded like a critical way, that your generation doesn’t want to work as hard as the ones before you. But in all honesty, after all these years I can let you in on a little secret. That wasn’t criticism. It was jealousy.”
The comments drew laughter, but also nods of recognition from graduates who have entered medicine during a period when conversations around mental health, physician wellness and work-life balance have become increasingly urgent.
Speights praised the class for redefining what dedication can look like in modern medicine. He spoke admiringly of a generation capable of working intensely while still making space for friendships, family and personal well-being — something previous generations of physicians often neglected.
At the center of his message was compassion, a theme woven repeatedly throughout the ceremony.
Speights reminded students of advice shared on their first day of medical school by the late Dr. Daniel Van Derme, whose words clearly still resonate within the College of Medicine community.
”Dan said something like this: Each of us is filled with a reservoir of compassion and caring. It’s like a river, flowing from you to your patients. Guard against becoming jaded, because it will dam that river up, but also keep in mind that if your reservoir is constantly flowing, it has to be refilled or it will run dry.
“Find and do things that refill that reservoir of compassion and caring. Caring is integral. Patients don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Among those listening intently was Bridge program graduate Shawn Franklin, who has already earned praise from faculty members for his compassionate approach to patient care. The message appeared to land deeply with many graduates preparing to enter a profession where scientific knowledge alone is never enough.
That spirit of service and human connection also defined many of the awards presented during commencement weekend.
On the evening before graduation, students gathered for the Presentation of Awards ceremony, where classmates and faculty recognized academic excellence, leadership and dedication to patients and communities.
One of the most notable honors, the Mission Award, went to Ben Linkus. After completing his final clinical years at the Pensacola Regional Campus near his hometown of Gulf Breeze, Linkus is now preparing to move to Newark, Delaware, for a residency in general surgery.
His future, however, did not always seem headed in that direction.
Linkus originally imagined himself practicing family medicine, but a third-year rural medicine rotation at Jackson Hospital through the Marianna Rural Program dramatically changed his perspective. Working alongside physicians Vechai Arunakul and John Brunner exposed him to the unique role surgeons can play in underserved rural communities.
“I fell in love with rural healthcare and what the general surgeon can do in those types of communities,” Linkus said. “[Arunakal and Brunner] were huge role models for me, being able to see how they impacted the community. Eventually, the plan is to come back to the Panhandle and be the rural general surgeon in a community along I-10.”
For rural communities across America — many of which continue to struggle with physician shortages — graduates like Linkus represent a critical part of the future healthcare workforce.
Faith, service and compassion also stood at the center of Katelyn Cornelius’ journey through medical school.
Cornelius, who studied at the Orlando Regional Campus near her hometown of Winter Park, was selected to deliver the invocation during Saturday’s ceremony. Her classmates and faculty members had already come to recognize her not only for academic achievement but for the empathy she consistently brought into patient care.
“My faith has always been a big part of my life,” Cornelius said. “Before I stated medical school, I got to work at a clinic for patients without insurance that’s faith-based in Orlando. I really saw how these people’s desire to serve was so driven by their faith. And I worked with a pediatrician who used to talk about how, you know, we’re called to be loving in anything that we do.”
That philosophy shaped her approach throughout medical school. During Friday night’s awards ceremony, Cornelius was recognized as the Orlando Regional Campus Dean’s Award recipient. She was also one of eight students to receive the American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Citation, an honor awarded to students ranking in the top 10% of their class while also demonstrating leadership, service and advocacy.
Dr. Alma Littles, dean of the College of Medicine, presented Cornelius with the prestigious J. Ocie Harris Outstanding Student Award, recognizing the student considered to show exceptional promise as a future physician.
Yet even amid the honors and distinctions, Cornelius spoke less about achievement and more about purpose.
“People ask me, ‘Why are you like this? Why are you so nice and kind and focused? Why do you know this information?” she explained. “For me, it is loving and caring, and that feels like my mission and my ministry to others; to learn this information well, to care for people well, to help them feel seen and heard and loved at the end of the day.”
As the ceremony came to a close, graduates crossed the stage one by one, each carrying different ambitions into the next phase of their training. Some are headed into surgery, others into pediatrics, family medicine, emergency care or specialties still to be discovered. Their destinations span hospitals, clinics and residency programs across the country.
But beneath those different paths was a common thread repeated throughout the day: medicine is not only about expertise. It is about humanity.
By the time the final notes of “Pomp and Circumstance” faded and the graduates filed out of Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, the message lingering in the room seemed unmistakable. The Class of 2026 is entering a healthcare system facing enormous challenges — physician burnout, workforce shortages and rapidly changing patient needs among them.
Yet faculty members appeared confident that this new generation of doctors may approach those challenges differently than the generations before them.
Not by working less.
But perhaps by learning how to care for others without forgetting how to care for themselves.
