May 19, 2026 — On her memorable 26th birthday, Ashley Bissenas, M.D. ’26, walked across the stage of the Curtis M. Phillip Center for the Performing Arts to receive her diploma and be called “doctor” for the first time.

“The whole time I just had to pinch myself,” said Bessinas, who will complete her residency training in dermatology at the Virgina Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “I never, ever thought I would get to this point, and all I could feel was immense gratitude for the people around me because I really couldn’t have done it without them.”

Surrounded by friends and family — and lots of lovebugs — Bessinas and 146 of her classmates marked the end of their medical school journeys at the University of Florida College of Medicine in a May 16 ceremony.

The graduating class selected Baligh Yehia, M.D. ’06, M.P.P., M.Sc., FACP — who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his own graduation from the UF College of Medicine this year — to deliver the ceremony’s keynote address.

A nationally acclaimed healthcare leader, Yehia is president of Jefferson Health, where he oversees a dynamic academic health system comprising 32 hospitals and more than 700 clinic care sites across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Yehia spoke to the graduates about their upcoming path into uncharted waters, and the importance of navigating these unknowns with purpose.

“If you are sitting here today feeling a little uncertain, you are exactly where you need to be,” he said. “It is not a flaw in your character; it is a signal. It means you fully understand the profound weight of the responsibility you’re about to take on.

“You are leaving this institution with an immense, hard-earned body of knowledge,” Yehia continued. “You know the pathways, you know the protocols, you know the science. The vast majority of your career will be grounded in exactly what you know, but make no mistake, the moments that are uncertain are the ones that will define you as a physician.”

Yehia offered three pillars to the graduates for thriving in uncertainty: guard your fire and make your personal well-being a priority; abandon the myth of the solo hero and lean into the team sport aspect of medicine; and harness the technology and tools available to provide better care, but never let that become a barrier to the personal connections you can make with patients.

“You are ready, not because you know everything, but because you are willing to learn,” Yehia said. “Your knowledge will absolutely matter, but your steadiness, your humility and your compassion, they will matter more. I am so proud of you. I am proud of this institution, and I am fiercely confident in the physicians and the leaders you are about to become.”

When interim Dean Jennifer Hunt, M.D., M.Ed., spoke to the class, she acknowledged the excitement that comes with milestone events, as well as the people you turn to when sharing good news. After calling your parents and family, Hunt said, the second call often goes to a trusted mentor.

“Over the next few years, you will have so many things you’ll accomplish,” said Hunt, the Folke H. Peterson Dean’s Distinguished Professor. “You’ll have proud saves, you’ll have joyful family events. You may get a big grant or get an important paper accepted for publication. My first piece of advice is this: Call your parents right away. They will never stop being excessively, embarrassingly, effusively proud of you, and they want to hear your voice in that moment when your excitement is the most infectious.

“My second piece of advice is this: Always, always make the second call. Remember the mentors who poured into you, who believed in you and loved you. Your second call might be to one of these incredible faculty members on stage with me. Tell them your big news, and then thank them for enabling your success, for believing in you and helping you always believe in yourself and for being your champion.”

Finally, she said, make it your life’s mission to be someone else’s second call.

“Service to others lives in the hugs, in the tears, in the quiet moments shared and most importantly, in the precious times that you are someone’s second call,” Hunt said. “Wherever you go next, may the earth beneath you be strong as ground. May the grass of the fields be ever green and may it be a brand-new welcome home.”

Addressing his peers for the final time as president and academic chair for the Class of 2026, Raja Al-Bahou, M.D. ’26, thanked the faculty, staff, friends and family who stood by everyone’s sides during their studies.

“Though we faced uncertainty, doubt and even burnout … every challenge we faced, we faced together,” said Al-Bahou, who will complete his internal medicine residency at UF Health Shands Hospital.

The Class of 2026 will leave a huge mark across the country, he said, with members of the class completing their residency training in 27 states.

“What all of you taught me is that being a great physician has very little to do with perfection and everything to do with how you show up for others,” he said. “You taught me that medicine is not about knowledge, but about humanity, curiosity, resilience and kindness, and I know that because of all of you today I will leave this place not only a better student but a better person, too.”

Some of the students’ favorite moments during lectures, Al-Bahou said, included hearing faculty members like Jay Lynch, M.D., recount stories of their lives and relating that to patient care.

Each member of the Class of 2026 is a storyteller, Al-Bahou said, and can carry their personal experiences into how they practice medicine.

“Our stories and experiences don’t just stay with us; they shape how we connect with patients, how we offer compassionate care and how we teach the next generation of physicians who will come after us,” he said. “So be true to who you are and share your story wherever you go, because I assure you, you are nothing short of exceptional.”