AU celebrates over 1,700 graduates during spring commencement ceremonies

Augusta University celebrated 1,725 graduates during the university’s spring 2025 graduation and commencement exercises, which included five ceremonies held May 8-10.

During the Graduate Hooding and Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 8, 769 individuals were eligible to be hooded for completing doctoral, professional and master’s degrees and certificate programs. Between the two undergraduate ceremonies on Friday, May 9, over 650 graduates were presented with their degrees. During the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University’s ceremony on May 8, 234 new doctors were hooded, and 95 new dentists were hooded during the Dental College of Georgia’s ceremony on May 9.

One of the highlights each spring is the announcement of the John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care. The $40,000 Beard Award is given annually by William Porter “Billy” Payne and his wife, Martha, to a graduating MCG, College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences or The Graduate School student at AU who exemplifies caring and compassion in health care. This year, Brooke Amero, MD, a 2025 graduate of the Medical College of Georgia and an advocate for women’s health, was named the recipient during the MCG Hooding Ceremony.

MCG Hooding

The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University’s Class of 2025 Hooding Ceremony, which was moved this year to the Bell Auditorium, kicked the week’s celebrations off and included the annual class photo at the Old Medical College Building.

Every year, graduating students at both the main campus in Augusta and the AU/UGA Medical Partnership campus in Athens select a recipient of the Physician’s Physician Award. Students decide who among their classmates demonstrates the greatest aptitude for and devotion to the profession of medicine. This year’s recipients are Kali Malham, MD, representing the main campus in Augusta, who is headed to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a family medicine residency, and Katherine Street, MD, from the Medical Partnership campus in Athens, who matched in anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina Hospitals.

The guest speaker was Betsy Grunch, MD, a 2007 graduate of MCG who has made a name for herself on social media as “Lady Spine Doc” with close to 4 million followers across her social media channels. During her speech, she reminded the new doctors to remember “how powerful this profession is, how vital you are to the communities you’ll serve and how important it is to take care of yourself while you take care of others.”

She went on to speak about the ups and downs the new doctors are sure to face, but noted it will be a beautiful experience because “it will ask everything of you, but it will give back in ways that you can never imagine. You’ll see life in its rawest forms: a mom holding her newborn for the first time, a cancer survivor ringing the bell, a tragic car accident victim that you tried to save but you just couldn’t, a patient who remembers your name not because of what you prescribed but because you listened when they were scared.”

The Class of 2025’s two presidents, Queen Abure, MD, representing the Augusta campus, and Sreesh Sridhar, MD, from the Medical Partnership campus in Athens, then addressed their classmates.

Abure, who matched with the University of California San Francisco in vascular surgery, recalled the excitement, nerves and overall fears that were associated with the new beginning of med school. She encouraged her fellow new doctors to embrace the feeling they felt when they first entered medical school – “the excitement of change.”

She then shared four truths she learned during her four years at MCG: “Show up for each other, be fierce and advocate for one another, you’re capable of much more than you’ve ever imagined, and comparison is the thief of joy.”

Sridhar, who matched with the Medical University of South Carolina in psychiatry, shared a personal story about one of his first experiences conducting rounds in the ICU. He shared how one particular part of his round had not gone as he felt it should have, and he shared that feeling with some of his classmates and mentors. When he told them, “instead of being met with ridicule, anger or judgement, I was met with compassion, understanding and empathy.”

He then called back to when the class first gathered and was told they were all in this together. He admitted he didn’t understand it then, but four years of medical school had demonstrated that to him.

“I implore you to look back to how much you have been able to accomplish here together. You’ve all achieved something great, and you’ve forged bonds that will last an eternity,” he said.

Graduate Hooding and Commencement Ceremony

The Graduate Hooding and Commencement Ceremony featured student speaker Steve Jones, EdD, from the College of Education and Human Development. During his speech, he told his fellow graduates that the ceremony “is not about a finish line.”

He then went on to remind them what their educational journey was truly about.

“Today was not just about getting a certificate or a diploma to go on your wall. It was about opening new doors for you,” Jones said. “It was about opening new doors, seeing a new world, and going out into a new adventure because you are a new person today.”

Following Jones, retired Brig. Gen. Jeff Foley echoed Jones’ message that the educational path for the graduates was still ongoing, saying, “Your learning has just begun.”

After recognizing five graduates in attendance, he noted their stories were “about being energized, enlightened and empowered. And I know they represent all those values, everything that you and your leadership team here expect to have in an experience at your university. It’s clear to me that they are truly men and women of character full of integrity, humility and selfless service.”

Undergraduate Graduation Ceremonies

The spring ceremonies for undergraduates were split between two ceremonies. During the 10 a.m. recognition, graduates from the College of Allied Health Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, James M. Hull College of Business and Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences were honored.

During the first ceremony, Ta’zheara Butts, a graduate of the Bachelor of Social Work degree with a minor in political science from Pamplin College, spoke to her fellow graduates about how fast the last four years seemed to go.

“As you look around the room today, I hope that you all embrace this loving and supportive environment that we are now the center off, and I hope that you take some of that joy and spread it with others just because someone on this campus one day once decided to share it with you,” Butts said.

The second ceremony, which was held at 2 p.m., recognized graduates from the College of Nursing, College of Science and Mathematics and School of Computer and Cyber Sciences.

The student speaker was Christina Waller, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of Nursing. Waller also asked her fellow graduates to look back over the last four years, recognizing all that AU had helped instill in each of them.

“As I look back, I realize that Augusta University has given me the confidence, tools and the support to succeed. It taught me that no dream is impossible or too big, and that it’s OK to take things one step at a time.”

During both the morning and afternoon ceremonies, local entrepreneur Vera Stewart was the guest speaker. She shared her experience from being a young girl with a dream to being a multi-faceted professional.

“You may have heard the ‘power of three’ is a strong message: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from the Declaration of Independence,” Stewart said. “But my personal declaration of independence is learning that life is hard, a safety net cannot be expected and that disappointment and hardship can be overcome.”

She then shared her definition of DREAM, which she makes sure is seen through everything she does – determination, responsibility, enthusiasm, attitude and management.

“Will you defy the odds?” she asked those gathered. “Will you generate greatness, influence someone that you work with, or a young person that will think of you as a leader and a mentor? And will you make a difference by solidifying the adjectives that will be used to describe you, your peers, your family and what your coworkers say about you? So, dream about it.”

DCG Hooding

During the Dental College of Georgia’s hooding ceremony, the Outstanding Senior Award was presented to Harrison Smith, recipient of the 2025 DCG Faculty Scholarship and the Dr. John MacNamara Scholarship, and was accepted into the DCG Orthodontics Residency Program. Smith was also inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Rep. Lee Hawkins, DDS, state representative for the 27th District and former president of the Georgia Dental Association, served as the guest speaker. Hawkins, a prominent dentist in Gainesville, Georgia, shared his personal insights with the graduates, encouraging them to continue to learn and to work with integrity.

“You’ll have moments of doubt, but these are the challenges that build our resilience and our strength,” Hawkins said, but stressed that the profession is full of incredible rewards. “It’s a unique privilege to improve someone’s health.”

Tristen Bennett, president of the Class of 2025, who received the DCG Faculty Scholarship and the Dr. Karyn Stockwell Scholarship and completed a dental mission experience in Peru, served as the student speaker. Bennett shared how when he started dental school, he had two words engraved on the back of his iPad: “Fall forward.”

“As we leave, we will be nervous, and we won’t know all the answers,” he said. “We will fail, but when failure comes to make us fall, fall forward. Learn from the mistakes. Grow. Grow in your skills and become a stronger version each time. As long as you fall forward, you will always be a better version of yourself each day.”

Service to country

This year, Augusta University had 14 graduates who were recognized as they will take the next steps to serve their country with military service. On Saturday, May 10, seven were honored during a special ceremony hosted by the AU Army ROTC Program, known as the Jaguar Battalion.

During AU’s graduate hooding ceremony, Jherrica Childers, a graduate of Pamplin College, took the U.S. Army’s Officer Oath of Office and will commission into the Signal Corps.

She will be joined in the Signal Corps by Lisa Alexandre, Maira Dos Santos and John Morrison. Alexandre earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Hull College, Santos earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Pamplin College, and Morrison earned his Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from AU’s SCCS.

Saturday’s ceremony also saw Christopher Bonilla Aviles, Henry Flink and Manna Philip take the U.S. Army’s Officer Oath of Office. Bonilla Aviles, who earned his Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from AU’s SCCS, will commission into the Air Defense Artillery. Fink earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and will commission into the Military Police of the National Guard. Philip, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Pamplin, will commission into the Adjutant General Corps.

During the MCG hooding ceremony, Stephanie Cumbie, MD; Joseph Fahey, MD; Ty’a Oliver, MD; and Olabamibo Oke, MD, were all recognized for answering the call to serve in the nation’s military branches. Cumbie matched with emergency medicine at the University of Texas in San Antonio, Fahey matched with family medicine at the U.S. Air Force Regional Hospital at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Oliver matched with orthopaedic surgery at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta and Oke matched with orthopaedic surgery at Orlando Health in Florida.

DCG had three graduates who will be commissioning into the armed forces: Forrest Collins, DMD; Gabriel Hutcheson, DMD; and Chan Young Jin, DMD. Collins will begin a residency program in advanced education in general dentistry with the U.S. Army installation at Fort Hood, Texas. Hutcheson will serve with the U.S. Navy, starting with a residency at the Naval Postgraduate Dental School in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Jin will join the Army, commencing with an endodontics residency at Fort Eisenhower.