Despite the rain, the excitement was palpable on the MGH Institute campus Tuesday as more than 1,500 students began the fall semester. It was the first time in two years that all the IHP’s more than 300 courses were occurring on campus, rather than through a COVID-induced hybrid schedule.

With over 30 classes scheduled for Tuesday alone, the campus was buzzing with activity as students moved from building to building and class to class. In the Shouse Building, the school’s main academic hub, returning occupational therapy students began Assistive Technology in Occupational Therapy while just down the hall, entry-level genetic counseling students attended their introductory seminar. In 1 Constitution Wharf, the halls were filled with chatter as all incoming nursing students gathered for orientation while in 2 Constitution Wharf, new students in the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program discussed “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi, the common reading assignment all new students were required to read prior to starting classes.

“It’s exhilarating,” said Dr. Ken White, Dean of the School of Nursing. “The room is filled with positive energy and this student-body is ready to hit the ground running.” 

First semester Master of Science in Nursing student MacKenzie Libera shared Dean White’s excitement. “I can’t believe I’m already here,” said Libera as she was being fitted for an N95 respirator that she’ll wear while working with patients in clinical rotations. “Everyone has been so welcoming and have emphasized that they are here to support us.” 

Elsewhere on campus, students in several programs were starting their second or third years. They included Matthew O’Hara, DPT ’24, who began the second semester of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program; he will go into clinical rotations for the first time this fall. “It will be great to put the content we’ve been learning in the classroom into action,” he said.

For Maddie Berman, joining the speech-language pathology program was spurred by her recent work at the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Center, where she interacted with IHP alumni Dr. Jarrad Van Stan and former faculty Dr. Robert Hillman. “I heard great things about the program so that’s why I wanted to come here,” said Berman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in speech from the University of Vermont.

Her classmate, Genesia Watters, said she was drawn to the IHP because of the program’s literacy concentration. “I’m anxious but very excited to get started,” said the Queens College graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology.

Check out the IHP's Instagram account and Dropbox for more first-day photos.