The inspiring, emotional and festive IMPH 2015-2016 Graduation Ceremony was held on September 14, 2016, at the Faculty of Medicine on the Ein Kerem campus. Greetings were presented by Hebrew University's Prof. David Lichtstein - Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Mr. Ram Semo - Director, Division for Advancement & External Relations, Prof. Yoram Weiss - Director of the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, and Ambassador Gil Haskel - Head of MASHAV, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
IMPH class representatives, Ms. Nechama Averick (USA) & Dr. Josaia Tiko (Fiji), summed up the year from the students' perspective.
The Keynote Speaker was IMPH alumna Ms. Narmada Acharya (1997-1998) from Nepal, currently serving as Strategic Intervention Advisor, UNAIDS, Zambia. Ms. Acharya inspired the graduates through her talk on “Connecting Community and Academia: My Journey and Lessons Learned".
We were fortunate to have representatives of our sponsors and donors present at the Graduation Ceremony, including Ms. Dina Gidron of the Pears Foundation.
The IMPH class wowed the audience with their Hebrew rendition of the popular Israeli folksong "Shalom Lach Eretz Nehederet", traditional dances from each of their countries, and also prepared an entertaining film highlighting their IMPH experiences.
The students also prepared a beautiful and moving yearbook commemorating the time spent in Jerusalem, their peers, teachers, trips and memories. One such memory will surely be the visit, two days prior to graduation, to the Sorek Stalactite Cave National Park which was followed by our traditional IMPH closing dinner sponsored by the Pears Foundation and attended by Ms. Dina Gidron. (September 12, 2016)
