On May 13, 2026, the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) honored 64 graduates during its Doctor of Medicine Commencement Ceremony at Lawlor Events Center — a moment that marked not just the completion of four demanding years, but the official beginning of a lifelong calling. 

As the 47th four-year graduating class to earn the M.D. degree from UNR Med, the Class of 2026 crossed the stage surrounded by the people who carried them through the most challenging and transformative chapter of their lives: family members, faculty, mentors, classmates and alumni who once stood where they are now.

The ceremony was both a celebration and a charge — one that emphasized humanity, service, leadership and responsibility at a pivotal moment for the medical profession. 

A milestone, generations in the making 

UNR Med Vice Dean Timothy Baker, M.D. ’04, welcomed graduates and guests, including members of the Class of 1976, who returned to celebrate their 50th golden reunion — a reminder of medicine’s continuity across generations. 

The ceremony carried special meaning as graduates gathered in a space woven deeply into the University’s history. From sporting events to commencements, Lawlor Events Center has hosted countless milestones. On this day, it bore witness to the transformation of the Class of 2026 students into physicians. 

“I greet you at the beginning of a great career” 

University of Nevada, Reno President Brian Sandoval, J.D., addressed the class with a reflection on vocation, urgency and service. Quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, he told graduates, “I greet you at the beginning of a great career,” acknowledging the rigor, discipline and sacrifice each graduate endured to reach this moment. 

Sandoval emphasized that medicine is not merely an occupation, but a calling rooted in compassion and integrity. Drawing on the wisdom of Fred Anderson, M.D., the physician often called the “Father of the University of Nevada School of Medicine,” Sandoval reminded the class that excellence in medicine lives in decisive action: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” 

“In medicine,” Sandoval added, “‘tomorrow’ is not always an option.” He challenged graduates to meet every moment — especially the most urgent ones — with their best work, their full presence and a deep sense of responsibility to the communities they serve. 

Leadership in a time that demands it 

UNR Med Dean Paul J. Hauptman, M.D., spoke candidly about the realities today’s physicians face, including declining public trust, systemic challenges and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care perception.

“This does not sound like a very optimistic start,” Hauptman acknowledged, before issuing a call to action. “But it can be. Your job — your responsibility — is to help bring about change.” 

He returned to the vision that drew many students to UNR Med in the first place: A Healthy Nevada. UNR Med graduates, he said, are uniquely prepared to make a difference in the lives of individual patients and families. 

Hauptman underscored the remarkable progress unfolding across medicine, from cancer and cardiovascular care to genetic and rare disease research happening at UNR Med itself. He reminded graduates that while technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping health care, they cannot replace what matters most. 

“AI cannot replace your voice, your laying on of hands or your empathy,” he said. “It must not dilute your sense of purpose.” 

His closing advice: “Work hard on behalf of your patients, stay positive, show up early and be leaders.” 

A keynote grounded in impact and humility 

Commencement keynote speaker John A. Spertus, M.D., embodied the balance between national impact and personal humility that defined the ceremony’s tone. A cardiologist, researcher, innovator and longtime advocate for patient-centered care, Spertus has influenced how clinicians across the world understand quality of life in heart disease — while remaining deeply grounded in the human experience of medicine. 

His address reinforced a recurring message of the day: excellence in medicine is measured not just in discoveries and data, but in listening, equity and compassion. He urged graduates to challenge the status quo, reminding them that “you will see inefficient systems that everyone else has accepted and encounter practices that make little sense,” but encouraging graduates to meet these moments with persistence, collaboration and openness to critique. 

At the same time, Spertus emphasized that the profession’s deepest meaning lies in human connection — “in taking an extra moment to listen,” in recognizing the person behind the diagnosis, and in offering compassion when patients are most vulnerable.

The Class of 2026 was reminded that meaningful, ethical improvement in health care begins with how physicians understand and honor the patient voice, and that while patients may not remember every clinical decision, “they will remember whether you made them feel seen, heard and cared for.” 

The power of “human forward” medicine 

UNR Med Alumni Chapter President Peter Costa, M.D. ’88, offered a deeply personal reflection to the Class of 2026 — one that began decades earlier in the very same building. From ushering basketball games as an undergraduate to standing on the commencement stage, Costa shared a simple truth earned through lived experience. 

“Forty-three years later,” he said, “I can finally tell you where the best seat in the house is. It’s on this stage looking at all these smiling, proud faces.” 

Costa described what he believes makes UNR Med distinctive: its “human forward” focus. He reminded graduates that presence, listening and truly seeing the person in front of them is what earns patient trust — and what will set them apart as physicians. 

As graduates prepare to begin residency, often alongside peers from larger or more widely known institutions, Costa offered reassurance: “Don’t even think about imposter syndrome.” He reminded them that every physician, everywhere, starts the same way. What matters is how they practice medicine — with humanity first. 

A class that persevered together

Class President Chloe Henderson, M.D., soon to be an intern in the University of New Mexico’s Family Medicine Residency Program, delivered a speech that captured the heart of the Class of 2026. Rather than speaking alone, she carried the voices of her classmates with her. 

Their highlights painted a picture of connection: friendships, mentors, volleyball at Lake Tahoe, impromptu ping pong tournaments, Match Day celebrations, and milestones that included five children born and 16 engagements and marriages throughout the class. 

Just as powerfully, they shared their struggles — missed family moments, loss, isolation and the relentless pressure of medical training. From those experiences emerged five lessons that will guide them forward, including the reminder that “the big things aren’t actually that big,” and that “the little things are what last.” 

“If there’s one thing our class has taught me,” Henderson said, “it’s that we never have to do hard things alone.” 

Answering the call to serve 

Retired Colonel John Westhoff, M.D., assistant dean of student research, conducted the commissioning of two graduates into military service: 

• Joseph Gardner, M.D., promoted to Lieutenant, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy
• Anna Christine Smith, M.D., promoted to Captain, Medical Corps, U.S. Air Force

The ceremony concluded with a powerful moment of unity as all physicians in attendance joined the entire Class of 2026 in reciting the Physician’s Oath — a collective affirmation of purpose, ethics and responsibility. 

The journey forward 

As loved ones stepped forward to place doctoral hoods over their shoulders and applause echoed through Lawlor Events Center, the Class of 2026 crossed an invisible threshold — no longer students, but physicians. With that moment, they became doctors in the fullest sense, prepared to begin residency training across the country and carry forward the lessons, relationships and values forged at UNR Med. 

They depart not solely with clinical knowledge and technical skill, but with a shared promise — to practice medicine with humanity at the center, to put patients first, and to serve their communities with integrity, compassion and purpose.