Voices From the Class of 2024 at Icahn Mount Sinai’s Commencement

Updated on May 24, 2024 | Featured, School

Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn Mount Sinai, addressing the school at the 55th Commencement ceremony.

Cloudy skies could not dampen the excitement of the class of 2024 of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who had gathered at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for their Commencement on Friday, May 10. It was, after all, a milestone of their medical school journey—one that began right as the COVID-19 pandemic took off in New York City.

“You arrived here nearly four years ago, when New York City was under siege,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn Mount Sinai. It was a class that experienced major disruptions to coursework, but also one that witnessed how physicians can be challenged to care for patients and deal with viral outbreaks. “At Mount Sinai, you will forever be known as the ‘pandemic class,’” Dr. Charney said, to much laughter.

At the 55th Commencement of Icahn Mount Sinai, degrees were granted to 191 recipients: 115 MDs, 57 PhDs, and 19 dual degrees—eight MD/PhD, two MD/MPH, and nine MD/MSCR. (Master’s degrees will be conferred at a separate ceremony in June.)

The journey of the class of 2024 was a challenging one: starting medical school completely remotely, learning anatomy through what felt like a video game, and getting to know classmates through a computer screen, recalled Candida Damian, MD, who gave one of the student Commencement speeches. These challenges were made harder by isolation as lockdowns happened during COVID-19 outbreaks. However, she quipped, “Like Mount Sinai says, ‘We Find a Way.’”

Jumping into the future is daunting, but that’s because the graduating class stands at the frontiers of science and medicine, noted Sally Claridge, PhD, who gave the other student Commencement speech. “You cannot look in the back for the answer key; you’re writing the textbook,” she said. “Now that we have made it here, to this auditorium, to this moment, it is still inspiring and overwhelming because across all of us graduating today, we have now already written ‘the textbook’ many times over and then some.”

In this year’s recap, hear from various students about their time at Icahn Mount Sinai and the memories they’ll treasure as they embark on the next steps in their medical and research careers.

Ava Adler, MD

Next step: General surgery residency at Mount Sinai

During one of our Objective Structured Clinical Examination sessions where we practice being a doctor, my first time going in I was very nervous. I tried to sit on the stool and it completely came out from under me and I fell on the floor. I was so embarrassed and so upset about it, and all my friends were there and said, ‘It’s OK.’ They told me to brush it off and said it will get better. It was a very funny but also very memorable moment for me. I’m definitely not the same person as I was when I first started. Being around patients and seeing how it’s a privilege to be there for them, knowing the difference you can make by giving them a smile, giving them an ounce of happiness during a hard time, it is so incredible that it makes every single day worth it.

Michael Fernando, PhD

Next step: Postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, New York City

It is a rainy day, but we’re all here celebrating big splashes that we’ve done at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. I’ll always cherish all of the hard work that we’ve collectively done to advance science and medicine, and the hours that we’ve spent in the lab pursuing development of ourselves both personally and professionally. I’d like to thank my advisors, Kristen Brennand, PhD, and Paul Slesinger, PhD. I owe all of my success in the lab and outside the lab to them, and the cultures that they’ve fostered within their scientific environments.

Arman Azad, MD

Next step: Emergency medicine residency at University of California, Los Angeles

I can’t believe it: I’m going to be a doctor! It’s been four crazy years—crazy fun years. I’ve met the best people, and I think I’m ready. Mount Sinai just has the best medical students in the world. They’re all so smart, but they’re also just the kindest, warmest people. And our staff, our faculty, our professors, everyone has been just rooting for us for so long. I’m going to miss them so much. I’ve learned that it’s important to focus on your studies and your work, but also on yourself and the relationships with the people around you. That’s one thing we had the space to do and I’m really thankful for it.

Ning Ma, PhD

Next step: Postdoctoral fellow at Mount Sinai

Something I’ve learned is to never give up. If you never give up, you will achieve something. It’s what kept me successful in getting this degree. At the beginning, it was challenging to figure out the project—what’s the hypothesis of your research, literature review, and back-and-forth with your mentors. But the key is to always have a passion for what you want to pursue.

Candida Damian, MD

Next step: Triple board residency at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the future. It’s been a long journey, and I can’t wait to get to work! In the beginning, I faced challenges and often doubted whether I was good enough to become a doctor. I overcame these feelings by being vulnerable and seeking out support. My family, my mentors at Mount Sinai, and most definitely my classmates all helped me along the way.

Amara Plaza-Jennings, MD/PhD

Next step: Neurology residency at Mass General Brigham, Boston

I’m feeling very grateful and excited for everything that I’ve accomplished over the past eight years at Mount Sinai. I learned that I’m capable of more than I’ve thought I was. If there’s something I don’t know, I have the ability to figure it out and to teach myself new skills.

Nicola Feldman, MD

Next step: Pediatrics residency at Boston Children’s Hospital

I’m in awe that this moment has actually come, and that these next steps are actually happening. It’s amazing to look in the audience and see so many family and loved ones of my classmates, and that they are all celebrating us. About a year ago, my uncle unexpectedly passed away. It would be really amazing for him to be here today—he’s a lot of fun—and we’d be having even more fun with him here. That’s something I’m missing today, even though overall it’s a really happy day.

Megan Schwarz, PhD

Next step: Postdoctoral fellow at Mount Sinai, then joining the biomedical research industry

During the pandemic, I was stuck at home, and I couldn’t be in the lab except to check on some mice. My PhD advisor, Ernesto Guccione, PhD, called me up. We’re a cancer lab, and he asked if I wanted to do this unrelated COVID-19 project. He said it will probably be done by summer of 2020. Fast forward to June 2022, we’re publishing a paper, involving many clinicians, patients, institutes—many continents involved—and that all started with this phone call because we were bored. It taught me that I’m capable of adapting and collaborating.

Benjamin Oseroff, MD

Next step: Neurology residency at Mount Sinai

A highlight of my time at Icahn Mount Sinai was having my daughter born 10 days before orientation. Carrying her across the stage at graduation feels like such an achievement; I feel so fortunate. I’d like to thank my wife—she’s done so much for me and our family.

Ethan Veit, PhD

Next step: Looking for job opportunities

I’m so thankful for my Principal Investigator, Matthew Evans, PhD; all of the graduate school administration; and Basil Hanss, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Career Development, who was one of the first people involved in recruiting me to Mount Sinai. One of my biggest achievements was being able to participate in the numerous Virus-Host Symposiums and also win the best presentation award at that symposium.

Rishab Revankar, MD

Next step: Intern year at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, dermatology residency at University of Virginia

One of my best memories at Mount Sinai was being able to have our White Coat Ceremony. Usually, it is held in the first week of medical school, but we had it between our second and third year because of COVID-19. That was one of the first times we were all together in person, and it was an amazing moment to relish our resilience and togetherness. I came to Mount Sinai to pursue an MD degree, looking to be a doctor, but I feel like I got so much more than that. I got an understanding of what it means to be a physician-leader. I want to make Mount Sinai proud by being a good doctor, but also be a good leader in my community and in society.

Navigate with the arrows to learn more about the Class of 2024 and their time in medical and graduate school.

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