The MGH Institute Commencement concluded on Monday, but the celebrations continued for the Genetic Counseling Class of 2025 with an award ceremony held in 1CW on Tuesday. 

“The Awards & Recognition Ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to truly celebrate each graduate in community with their families and friends,” said Flynn. “We individually recognize each graduate, their Capstone research title, and quotes provided by their own classmates about what they have brought to the cohort and to the genetic counseling profession. It’s a time to recognize all of the hard work of the graduates and how proud we are to call them colleagues.                              

Student speakers Somin Hwang and Salma Khalid Taher spoke to their peers about the journey it took to get to graduation and shared their excitement for the future, while graduates Sidney Ching, Alexis Shugars and Kathleen Ohman musical entertained their classmates, friend, and relatives with a musical performance.

Awards were then handed out to students and faculty along with hugs and applause for their accomplishments:

Student Excellence in Leadership Award - Jia Yin Sum

Student Excellence in Service Award - Somin Hwang

Student Excellence in Mentorship Award - Jia Yin Sum 

Outstanding Faculty Awards -  Rebecca Burns, MS CGC and Dr. Amy Clara, PsyD

Outstanding Supervisor Award - Ashley Wong, MS, CGC

Outstanding Capstone Committee Member Award - Chelsea Pappas, MS, CGC

"The Award and Recognition Ceremony is a wonderful complement to the larger, more formal Commencement ceremony,” said Allison Cirino, director of student research. “We are able to include personalized elements to celebrate the students' accomplishments and showcase some of their individual talents. This year we enjoyed a fantastic musical performance by a few students. The ceremony is always a cherished celebration for our entire program.”

Members of the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling Class of 2025 include:

Laura Blakemore
Makena Caron
Madison Chilian 
Kathy Chu 
Sidney Ching
Michelle Duffe 
Madelyn Falk
Mahnoor Fatima 
Lilian Hagan-Calzada
Somin Hwang
Alexis Shugars
Yuka Kato 
Thieny Le 
Madison Le
Michelle Malizio
Megan Moran
Danielle Napoli
Kathleen Ohman 
Jackson Pearce
Brittany Stokes 
Jin Yin Sum
Salma Khalid Taher 
Taylor Urban