EDITORIAL: Congrats to class of 2021
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May 8—Congratulations to all spring 2021 graduates!
Like your counterparts in the class of 2020, you have had an extremely unusual and challenging academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of you kept in-person classes with some mask-wearing and social distancing requirements, but many of you found yourselves balancing virtual and in-person classes for most of the year. That adjustment required flexibility, focus and perhaps a bit of good humor, and you rose to the challenge to complete your education.
And with any recognition of a graduating class comes the necessary but sometimes overlooked tip of the hat to the teachers, instructors, professors and all other educators who helped the class of 2021 reach this milestone. It hasn't been an easy academic year for you either, but your dedication to your students ensured that they would be successful in their studies and make it to graduation day.
We offer a special note of congratulations to the first graduating class of Kansas City University's Joplin campus, who will participate in the medical school's first local commencement ceremony today.
Approximately 150 of you who make up the campus' first cohort have worked four long years to get to this point. You have studied and practiced your craft under some excellent instructors and leadership, and now most of you will take the next step in your medical journey — a residency.
KCU Joplin was launched with the goal of prioritizing primary care in rural and underserved areas, so we hope you'll consider staying in or returning to the Joplin area as you plan where your career might take you. We hope we have been a warm and welcoming community for you over the past four years, and we'd like you to make Joplin your permanent home.
Whether you will end this spring semester with a high school diploma, college degree or medical degree, you should be proud of your accomplishment. Your community certainly is, and we're waiting to see where you will go and what you will do next to leave your mark on this world.
