Pictured: Gabriel M. Lapid, Jared Hara, Teresa Choe, David Bailey, Nina Beckwith, Antonette Hernandez, Joy Piotrowski, Dustin Uchiyama and Monika Young. Gabriel Lapid Photo.
By Gabriel Lapid, JABSOM MD Student 2018
The Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) of Hawai‘i and JABSOM celebrated its annual baccalaureate service on March 18 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church Millner Chapel. The evening was filled with prayer, song, and words of encouragement for nine graduates who were in attendance. Families, friends and CMDA members joined the graduates for the annual service.
Dr. William Fong, CMDA Hawai‘i State Representative and JABSOM faculty member, recalled his first impressions of the Class of 2018.
“At our first meeting, we asked the 2018 first-years to share a little bit about their background leading up to med school,” Dr. Fong said. “But they gave such deep personal stories that people were brought to tears.”
True to the spirit of their class, the seniors volunteered to dance the hula, lead worship music and create the end of the year video at their own baccalaureate service. The video was a particular surprise Dr. Fong and his wife, Judith, as the graduates used the opportunity to thank the Fongs for their tireless service to CMDA.
“They open their homes to people they’ve never met before, and from day one, you feel like you’ve known them forever,” said Nina Beckwith.
For years, the Fongs have hosted JABSOM CMDA meetings at their Makiki home every Monday evening through most of the school year. With help from the Hawai‘i chapter of the organization, Mrs. Fong, a trained nurse and caretaker of the ever popular health service dog Diego Fong, prepares a fresh meal for the students who gather every week.
CMDA Western Regional Director Michael J. McLaughlin gave the keynote address to the graduating medical students. Among his pieces of advice to the advancing students was the reminder to avoid comparing themselves with others. He explained a friend’s adventure in a sail boat race in which the competitors thought they were moving forward, but instead were going backward.
“Out in the open ocean, the sailors were too busy looking around at each other,” said McLaughlin. “They couldn’t tell how far they were from land and they couldn’t look down to see where they were, relative to the ground. When you’re out there, don’t think that you’re making progress just because you seem to be better off than people around you.”
Former CMDA co-student leader Teresa Choe also gave testimony during the service. She asked her classmates to remember that God is faithful, God is big and God is worthy. Dr. Craig Nakatsuka offered the closing prayer for the baccalaureate, which was followed by dinner in the church social hall.
CMDA 2018 Graduates
David Bailey
Emergency Medicine (Orlando Health, Orlando, Florida)
Nina Beckwith
Family Medicine (University of Hawai‘i, Mililani, Hawai‘i)
Teresa Choe
Emergency Medicine (Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Staten Island, New York)
Jared Hara
Transitional (Tucson Hospitals Medical Education Program, Tucson, Arizona)
Radiation Oncology (University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois)
Antonette Hernandez
Internal Medicine (University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i)
Gabriel M. Lapid
Pediatrics (Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California)
Joy Piotrowski
Pediatrics (Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island)
Dustyn Uchiyama
Medicine-Preliminary (University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawaii)
Anesthesiology (University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City, Utah)
Monika Young
Internal Medicine (California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California)
See event photos by Gabriel Lapid
