Over 100 new veterinarians can call themselves members of a unique group – the first graduating class of Long Island University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
The program was established in 2020 on LIU’s Brookville campus. Hundreds of students are currently enrolled in the program, with numbers expected to increase each year. 2024 was its first graduating class of students receiving a D.V.M. – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine – and saw up to 101 students leave LIU Brookville as veterinarians.
The group graduated at a ceremony on May 14 alongside undergraduate, graduate, and fellow professional alumni. To commemorate this occasion for LIU, the keynote speaker was Dr. Andrew Maccabe, CEO of the American Association of Veterinary Colleges.
Maccabe gave special notice to the struggles this class met – most notably, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in their first year of the program.
“The universe hurled some stuff at you and you made it,” Maccabe told the graduates. “Your journey was marked by some incredible disruptions, and here you are. Here’s some words I would use to describe you; you’re dedicated, altruistic, resilient, and hard-working.”
Maccabe congratulated the graduates for their accomplishments, but encouraged them not to view this as the end of their educational journey – rather, a step.
“This ceremony marks the transition from the end of your formal studies, to the start of your professional careers, and the commencement of your journey into the world where you will continue to learn and grow,” Maccabe said. “So as you begin your journey of lifelong learning, I’d like to leave you with these thoughts. Admit your ignorance. Embrace it. revel in it. There is much more that you don’t know. Then you do know. Second guard against your cognitive biases and don’t believe everything you think. As Mark Twain once said, ‘It isn’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so.’ Cultivate your curiosity. Give it room to grow by challenging your assumptions.”
LIU President Kimberly Cline also spoke, congratulating the new alumni.
“At Long Island University, you have excelled in the classroom met friends, you will know for a lifetime, earn coveted internships and clinical placements, and endured mandated masking in the first year of your college,” Cline said. “There is a reason we call it commencement. This is the beginning of your professional lives. This is also a beginning of a lifelong connection, you are joining a network of alumni around the world over 285,000 who are leaders and have achieved high levels of success. Call them look in your alumni book, see how you can connect to integrate with them and perhaps work with them at some point.”
After the general ceremony was over, Maccabe took to the podium to lead the new veterinarians in the Veterinarians’ Oath:
“Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge. I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.”
