ORLANDO, May 28, 2010 — The College of Medicine charter class hosted its inaugural End-of-Year Banquet Thursday and named the event “Hygeia,” in honor of the daughter of the goddess of health and cleanliness.
The event, at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Sea World, featured a cocktail reception, dinner, faculty and staff awards and plenty of after-hours dancing.
The students organized the entire event and hope to make it a yearly end-of-year celebration.
They presented Dean Deborah German with an original poem they had written in her honor and recreated the “Good Doctor” lecture the Dean gave at last year’s White Coat Ceremony. A year ago, Dr. German stood in front of a blackboard and asked the brand-new students to help her make a list of all the characteristics of “The Good Doctor” they would want to treat a beloved friend or family member. At the banquet, the students recreated that lesson. Only this time, they took the first letter of each characteristic and combined them on a computer to create the title “The Good Dean German” on the blackboard.
“You have given the school its heart and soul,” Dr. German said of the students during her remarks that highlighted a year of “firsts” at the new College of Medicine. “You were just what we were hoping for.”
The students also gave the following awards to faculty and staff:
- Enthusiasm Award – Dr. Mohammed Khalil
- Effective Teaching Award – Dr. Jonathan Kibble
- Award for Dedication – Dr. David Balkwill
- Innovation Award – Dr. Loren Nelson
- Award for Inspiration – Dr. Jose Borrero
- Visionary Award – Dr. Rebecca Moroose
- Student Everyday Hero Award – Soraya Smith
- Faculty/staff Everyday Hero Award – Virginia Bagley
- Farewell and Happy Retirement Award – Dr. Randolph Manning