Friday, June 8, 2018

Graduation Week 2018: Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal Award Reception

When your face is on your school's wall #Blessed

On day three of graduation week, I received the Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal award during a beautiful reception held in my honor. For those who aren’t aware, this medal (in memory of one of PCOM’s co-founders) is presented to students for their outstanding achievement and service to the College, the community and the osteopathic profession, is the highest award a student can receive at either PCOM campus, and only one is given each year on each campus. This award also comes with a plaque containing a portrait of the recipient placed on the school’s wall for the entire year. Since starting medical school, I always stopped and admired the portraits of the year’s recipient, and said that I wanted that to be me one day. These were AMAZING individuals who not only left their mark on my school, but the last three recipients were people who I personally knew to be caring, hard-working, and just downright awesome. To even be nominated for this award was a true honor, and I am happy that I finally accomplished my dream of having my picture placed on the wall as I joined the same ranks as these wonderful individuals.

The award reception program

The day of my award reception was actually a bittersweet one. I was excited to have my closest family, friends, and loved ones in town for the event, but an hour before the reception, I received a call saying that my great-grandmother had passed earlier that afternoon. My parents were still driving into town and hadn’t heard the news, so I then proceeded to give my mom a call with the news. I was devastated and felt like I got hit with a ton of bricks, but there was no time to be sad and process my emotions since I had to be somewhere soon that required a happy face.  

The look on my parents' faces is priceless

The reception itself was so nice that it helped take my mind off my great-grandmother’s passing. It was such a blessing to have those closest to me in attendance, and the look on my parents’ faces when they saw the program and realized I was the sole honoree was priceless. The school also invited some of my favorite professors along with SNMA members, and I enjoyed their presence. Additionally, I had the opportunity to meet members of the PCOM Board of Trustees, and it was nice being able to chat with both my school’s Dean and the President of the school who were also in attendance.

Love this!

I was presented with my medal by my school’s SNMA advisor, and then I gave a short speech. Seeing my parents get all teary-eyed during the introductions and my speech absolutely made my day. My daughter even smiled a bit (which is the full extent of her getting emotional during stuff like this LOL). The medal even came with a beautifully engraved wooden box that I will forever cherish.

So happy to have these wonderful people in attendance

After all the speeches were done, it was time to take pictures. As usual, my daughter was more interested in eating the food than taking a million pictures, but I managed to get her to pose for a few. I also made sure to get some great pictures with other people in the room.

I love my family

All-in-all, the reception was an incredible blessing and my favorite highlight of graduation week. Even though my great-grandmother passed, I know she was smiling down on me that day, and it made the event even more special. If you’d like to know more about the award and see the official press release, feel free to check it out in the “features” section of my blog. My next post will be what everyone has been waiting for: Graduation Day!





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