Students Celebrate Commencement Milestone, Mentor Future Healthcare Professionals, Launch Hospice Memoirs and More
Published June 25, 2025
Inside OME
Milestone 25th Graduating Class Walks Stage
Photo: A member of the Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine's Class of 2025 poses for a fun photo with the TUCOM mascot
Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCOM) celebrated its 25th Commencement on May 19, 2025, with a festive ceremony that saw more than 130 doctoral degree candidates walk the stage at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.
Tami Hendriksz, DO, Class of 2006, campus provost and chief academic officer and dean of TUCOM, served as emcee for the ceremony. Patricia Salkin, JD, PhD, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of the Graduate and Professional Divisions for the Touro University System, conferred the degrees awarded to the DO Class of 2025.
“I urge you all to take a moment and to cast your gaze into the sea of faces that comprise our audience. Among them are the steadfast pillars of support, the friends and family members who have stood by our graduates through every trial and triumph,” Dr. Hendriksz told the graduates. “And let us not forget to honor the friendships forged within our hallowed halls, for they have been the companions through the arduous journey of medical education.”
Read more about TUCOM’s milestone 25th commencement ceremony.
Legacy Writers: UNTHSC-TCOM Students Bring Life Stories to the Final Chapter
When Azelia Lau, OMS III, arrived at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC-TCOM), she brought more than a passion for psychiatry—she brought an idea inspired by an undergraduate program she never got to join.
Azelia launched Legacy Writers, a student-led initiative under the Psychiatry Interest Group at UNTHSC. The program pairs medical students with hospice patients to preserve their life stories through memoirs.
With support from Community Healthcare of Texas and its volunteer coordinator, Melissa Brannon, students recently completed and published three memoirs for patients in hospice care.
Read more about how UNTHSC-TCOM students are helping hospice patients share their legacies.
High School Students Prep for Healthcare Careers
Photo: Opportunities Academy participants team up with first-year medical students in the Stop the Bleed activity.
A record 34 high school students from Colquitt County, Georgia, and the surrounding area gathered on campus the first week of June 2025 for Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine South Georgia (PCOM South Georgia)'s sixth Opportunities Academy, a weeklong summer enrichment program that brings together teens to explore potential career tracks in medicine and healthcare.
This year participants came from Colquitt, Thomas, Ben Hill and Lee counties. The students, all interested in healthcare careers, participated in activities to help prepare them for academic pursuits and their future careers. PCOM South Georgia second-year medical students, who served as mentors for groups of participants, created each day's agenda, ranging from activities such as CPR training to simulated medical emergencies. Three previous participants—one still in high school and two now undergraduate students—returned to serve as junior mentors.
Read more about PCOM South Georgia’s Opportunities Academy and its impact on aspiring healthcare students.
Dr. Feger Receives Statewide ‘40 Under 40’ Honor
Chelsea Feger, DO, a faculty member in the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) Department of Clinical Sciences, was among this year’s recipients of the “Generation Next: 40 Under 40” award by The State Journal, a publication that covers news about business, government, education, healthcare and related topics throughout West Virginia.
The Generation Next program honors young professionals whose work makes the Mountain State a better place to live, raise families and conduct business. Dr. Feger—a WVSOM assistant professor who will be promoted to associate professor on July 1, 2025—was one of 40 West Virginians recognized during a June 18 awards ceremony in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Maxwelton, West Virginia, resident said she is pleased to be acknowledged for her contributions to healthcare, education and community service.
Read more about Dr. Feger’s recognition and her dedication to West Virginia’s communities.
ACOOG Chapter at VCOM-Louisiana Named ‘Organization of the Year’ by The Wellspring
Photo: ACOOG chapter representatives at VCOM-Louisiana receive the “Organization of the Year” award from The Wellspring.
The American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG) chapter at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Louisiana Campus (VCOM-Louisiana) received The Wellspring’s “Organization of the Year” Award. This recognition celebrates the chapter’s outstanding volunteerism and ongoing commitment to supporting the Northeast Louisiana community.
Over the past year, the ACOOG chapter has worked closely with The Wellspring and its Family Justice Center, a vital nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals facing homelessness, domestic and sexual violence and other critical challenges. Together, they’ve created a partnership rooted in compassion, action and advocacy.
Read more about VCOM-Louisiana students’ partnership with The Wellspring.
VCOM-Carolinas Names Building in Honor of Transformational Gift
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Carolinas Campus (VCOM-Carolinas) has named its main educational building in honor of a transformational $8 million gift from G. Gail Lott, MEd, and James R. Edinger, DO. The gift, made possible by the donation of the couple’s beachfront home, marks the largest gift in the college’s history. Their generosity will significantly enhance the college’s ability to provide high-quality medical education at its Carolinas campus.
View more photos from the naming celebration on VCOM-Carolinas’ Facebook.
Empowering Future Innovators: VCOM-Auburn Hosts Summer Enrichment Experience for Alabama Students
During the week of May 1, 2025, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Auburn Campus (VCOM-Auburn), in partnership with Auburn University, hosted the Summer Enrichment Experience (SEE)—a dynamic, hands-on program designed to inspire high school students from across Alabama to explore future careers in STEM and healthcare.
Funded through a special presidential award presented by Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, to VCOM-Auburn’s anatomy faculty, this inaugural event offered students an exciting introduction to science and medicine. From interactive anatomy labs and clinical simulations to discussions on public health and biomedical research, participants engaged in experiences that broadened their academic horizons.
View more photos from the SEE program on VCOM-Auburn’s Facebook.
KCU Hosts National Orthopedic Boot Camp for Aspiring Osteopathic Physicians
Photo: Students sharpened technical skills through hands-on lab sessions in internal and external fixation, drilling, casting and soft tissue management during KCU’s Orthopedic Boot Camp.
The Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM) welcomed 30 top medical students from across the country for its fourth annual Orthopedic Boot Camp, a two-day hands-on training experience focused on orthopedic medicine. Led by KCU-COM alumnus Charles Orth, DO, and sponsored by HCA Healthcare, the camp covers foundational elements of an orthopedic rotation, including trauma cases, fracture repair, arthritis management and pediatric orthopedics.