They have been called pioneers, trailblazers and role models.

Among themselves, they jokingly refer to their class as "the guinea pigs." But by the end of this week, they will add a long-awaited name to their résumés: graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q).

On May 8, President David Skorton will confer the Cornell M.D. degree on the 15 members of the WCMC-Q Class of 2008 in a ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Doha. The ceremony will mark the first time a U.S. medical school has conferred the degree outside the United States.

The new physicians -- nine women and six men of seven nationalities, with Qatar having the largest representation -- will also be the first to receive a medical degree in Qatar.

The events leading up to the ceremony begin today, May 6, with a Senior Convocation, in which His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, and Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, wife of the Emir and chairperson of Qatar Foundation, will offer their congratulations.

The convocation will also include the first students to graduate in engineering from Texas A&M University at Qatar; in computer science and business administration from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar; and by this year's graduating class at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.

On May 7, individual graduates will be recognized for excellence in scholarship, clinical education, research and service at an Honors Convocation.

As for the graduation ceremony itself, which brings a cadre of dignitaries and VIPs to Doha from around the world, the soon-to-be-graduates have chosen classmate, Qatar native and future radiologist Jehan Al Rayahi to deliver their commencement address. Skorton will give the keynote address.

"I'm scared to death," Al Rayahi admitted (with a smile) at the prospect of giving the speech. But the last six years have offered a wealth of material to draw from.

"It was a lot of hard work; this experience challenged us," she said. "But it was good every step of the way."

WCMC-Q associate editor Sylvia Ismail contributed to this story.