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Dr. Kyuho Kang crosses the stage with his children, Derek, 4, and Chloe, 3, to receive his Ph.D. in immunology and microbial pathogenesis.

Dr. Julia Kendall has had a lot to juggle these last few years, being a wife, a mother and a Weill Cornell Medical College student. She set her sights high, and on May 25 saw the culmination of her hard work and determination, crossing the stage at Carnegie Hall to receive her diploma with her 21-month-old son in her arms.

“It’s a big step in all of our lives,” said the 28-year-old newly minted physician, who in a few months will begin a residency in pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “I’m so happy for all of the graduates and their families. It’s been a long journey but absolutely worthwhile. I feel so grateful to everyone who supported me.”

Kendall was among 258 students – 139 medical doctors, 62 Ph.D.s, 34 physician assistants and 23 with Master of Science degrees – to graduate. Red and white bouquets lined the Perelman Stage as Cornell University Interim President Hunter Rawlings joined deans Laurie H. Glimcher, Gary Koretzky and Javaid I. Sheikh in conferring degrees on students graduating from Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar.

With their education behind them, the graduates, including 34 physicians from Qatar, will begin their residencies, postdocs, fellowships and other phases of their careers.

“Being fearless means being open to trying new things with the confidence and the belief that you will succeed,” Glimcher said in her final commencement address as the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine. “I would ask you to set your sights high – aim high – as you dream about restoring people’s health and saving lives, about unlocking the secrets of disease or about building a better health care system for us all.”

That would be a fitting tribute to President Elizabeth Garrett, Cornell University’s 13th president, Rawlings said. In her eight months as president, Garrett, who died from colon cancer March 6, urged students to be trailblazers. Her dying wish, to establish a fund to advance colon cancer research, exemplified her belief in the power of medicine to enhance people’s lives. This year’s graduates now have the education to do that, whether at patients’ bedsides or the laboratory bench, Rawlings said.

“As many of you know, Beth Garrett was a patient here both before and during her illness, and she was deeply grateful for the extraordinary, compassionate care she received,” said Rawlings. “Whether you are earning a graduate degree or a medical degree, I hope you will go on to advance our understanding of health and disease, and to provide the excellent and compassionate patient care that was so important to our late president.”

A career in medicine is not without challenges, said Koretzky, dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. But that shouldn’t stymie ingenuity or impede discovery. The Class of 2016 should remain courageous and take scientific risks, he said.

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Weill Cornell Medicine’s Class of 2016 during commencement on May 25 at Carnegie Hall.

“Although investigative work has been and will continue to be the foundation for amazing medical advances, the current climate for research funding does pose challenges for us all,” Koretzky said. “But we have endeavored to teach you the skills necessary to succeed in this environment, whether your future will be in academia, in the private sector or in public service.”

Weill Cornell Medicine has instilled in the graduates the capacity to solve critical medical problems, which may transform the way scientists understand and physicians treat the most lethal diseases of our time, said Natalya Gertsik, Ph.D. ’16, the graduate school’s student commencement speaker.

“It’s the ability to change the world,” she said, of a doctorate in the life sciences. “And that’s true in any profession you choose to pursue, whether it’s doing science, writing about science, talking about science or standing up for science in policy. We have a responsibility to lead and continue to make a difference.”

An important part of being a leader is to understand the dynamics of a global society – to quickly adapt to a culturally diverse world, to attend to patients’ needs and values, said Dr. Vignesh Shanmugam, valedictorian of Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar’s Class of 2016.

“I hope you will always cherish the privilege of learning about and taking care of an incredibly diverse community, just like you did in medical school,” he said.

Weill Cornell Medicine is an “eddy for expertise,” said medical student commencement speaker Dr. Jeffrey Russ, a former student member of the institution’s Board of Overseers who earned his doctorate two years ago.

“We have no choice but to tirelessly apply the knowledge that we accumulated toward the advancement of biomedical research and health care for those who follow,” he said, “so that human health does not evolve in place but progresses incrementally forward. Right now it is our turn to channel the lessons of our very educators as we embrace the responsibility of our new profession.”

Jamie Black is an editorial intern for Weill Cornell Medicine; Alyssa Sunkin-Strube is an editor at Weill Cornell Medicine.