End of Year Party Brings "Tinge of Closure"

Students, faculty and staff members celebrated the end of the academic year at a gala evening on May 6th - an event that also marked the completion of the Pre-medical Program by the Class of 2008.

The gathering, at a hotel in the West Bay area of Doha, took place in the presence of Dean of WCMC, Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., M.D., D.Phil., Executive Vice Dean and Associate Provost, Steven P. Rosalie, and Dean of WCMC-Q, Daniel R. Alonso, M.D.

During the evening, certificates of completion were awarded to the Class of 2008, and certificates of appreciation from this Class, and from the Class of 2009, were presented to a number of faculty members and staff.

Members of the inaugural Class also received their copies of "Hakeem," a Yearbook specially designed for them to mark completion of the two-year Pre-medical Program.* The occasion was essentially social and light-hearted, the tone set by brief speeches from Medical Student Executive Council (MSEC) President Ibrahim Sultan, and Registrar Betty Monfort. The Registrar also read remarks on behalf of Director of Student Affairs, Charles Paragg, who was unable to attend, following an operation in the spring.

The warmth of the atmosphere at the gathering reflected the closeness of the community at WCMC-Q, commented professor of chemistry Frank Smith:

"Because it's such a small group here, we've really got to know the students well. Even in a small university in the North American context, one never gets the opportunity to know the first and second year students so well. That's been a terrific plus - we're almost like one family."

The feeling was echoed by Teaching Assistant (TA) Amy Abdallah, who said that contacts between TAs and students are closer and more informal than is the case in the U.S. "Working at the school all day, I'm around the students.....they can come by any time, since we're full time and there all day."

Some expressed the hope that, as the Class of 2008 moves on to the Medical Program, they won't forget their professors from the earlier period. "There's a little tinge of closure tonight," said assistant professor of organic chemistry, Michael Pungente, who received the ‘best faculty member’ award from the Class, "I hope they remember us and come down from the medical rooms to say ‘hi’ to us!"

Ibrahim Sultan commented on the growing collegiate atmosphere at WCMC-Q: "it's getting more and more integrated. There's more of a college life; that's something we didn't have so much last year, and I think it's one of the most important differences."

Or, as Osama Al-Saied quipped "at least now we can play sports - we can constitute two teams and play together!"

One highlight of the evening was the Qatar (and world) Premiere of a video film along the lines of "A Day in the Life of..." Leading lights of the student media group Rana Biary, Mohammed Al-Rayahi and Yasir Tarabichi had paced their account of a typical day at break-neck speed and to the accompaniment of a well chosen sound-track.

"The video was hilarious," said Dean Gotto afterwards, "it was a typical student artistic production......with the kind of energy, enthusiasm and spontaneity that you expect from students."

As Yasir Tarabichi put it: "what we had in mind from the beginning was, how can we show what we've been through from beginning to end — who we are?"

The last word to Registrar Monfort, recipient of an award from the Class of 2008, who generously paid tribute to the teamwork of the WCMC-Q community: "they rewarded me for something that I love to do, and that I do as part of a team. It's not a one-man show."

For more pictures of the End of Year Party Click Here 

"Hakeem" is an Arabic word that is used either as an adjective, meaning wise; or as a noun, meaning physician.