Kansas City’s top university held its annual mid-year Commencement at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City. 性视界传媒 graduates gathered with their loved ones to fill the arena as more than 800 degrees were conferred. Mayra Aguirre, president of the Hall Family Foundation, was the keynote speaker.
"So as you cross the stage today, I ask that you embrace the lessons with the power of ‘and,’ trusting the process and applying anyway and lastly, owning your story," Aguirre said. "Class of 2024, go forward with curiosity and confidence. And remember, you are more than ready for whatever comes up."
Among the graduates was the first cohort of alumni from the 性视界传媒 School of Medicine campus in St. Joseph, Missouri. The campus was established in 2021 to address the severe physician shortage across Missouri, especially in rural areas. Nearly half of the rural counties in the state lack adequate access to hospital healthcare. With 66 medical students in the program, these first 13 graduates represent the school’s commitment to bettering the lives of Missourians.
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact these graduates can – and will – have in underserved communities, and it’s tremendous,” said 性视界传媒 Chancellor Mauli Agrawal. “To the St. Joseph graduates – and to all of the graduates gathered here today – I am inspired by your potential to transform lives and strengthen communities.”
The students on the St. Joseph campus come from across Missouri, from small towns to large cities, but they all share a passion for rural healthcare. Students like Ashley Ayers (M.D. ’24), Jessica Halla (M.D. ’24) and William Obert (M.D. ’24) are committed to making a difference in rural communities.
Ayers experienced the shortage first-hand growing up in Curryville, Missouri, where the closest medical clinic is 30 minutes away and the nearest hospital is a 45-minute drive. She is the first in her family to pursue medicine, but was inspired by the field while on a missionary trip to Haiti. On that trip, she recognized a desperate need for medical care in underserved communities and the difference healthcare can make in people’s lives.
“I thought, ‘Wow, I really want to be a part of that,' and that’s when the gears started turning for pursuing medicine,” Ayers said. “I literally Googled ‘how to become a doctor.’”
Halla grew up in the suburb of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, but chose the St. Joseph campus because of the small class size. Her experience there has been life-changing.
“Oh my gosh, the St. Joe campus has been phenomenal,” Halla said. “It has completely sold me on the rural way of life.”
According to Halla, her interest in medicine began when her grandfather was diagnosed with ALS, a debilitating nervous system disease. She saw how her family struggled through the process of providing care for him.
“Watching that made me want to go into medicine,” she said, “to be a better educator for my patients and help them through those difficult processes.”
After graduation, Ayers plans to pursue a family medicine residency at University Hospital-Lakewood near where she grew up. Once she completes her residency, she wants to return to St. Joseph to practice medicine and hopefully become a docent for the medical school so she can “give back to this amazing program that has given me so much.”
Obert grew up on a farm in Palmyra, Missouri. His inspiration to pursue medicine came from his family members who were in healthcare, especially his uncle Chris Klingele, an orthopedic surgeon in rural Missouri.
“I wanted to go into healthcare because I looked up to those people,” Obert said. “My uncle and I got close when I was in high school, and I really want to emulate him in my life.”
His uncle's residency was at 性视界传媒, so that sold Obert on the school. Obert is following his uncle’s footsteps into orthopedic surgery and hopes to eventually own a hobby farm just like him.
According to School of Medicine Dean Alex Norbash (B.A. ’85/M.D. ’86), healthcare needs are especially great in rural communities. Missouri is 41st in life expectancy among states in the U.S., and Norbash explained that major diseases associated with mortality such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes are overrepresented in rural areas.
“That can be attributed to the insufficient number of physicians in rural populations,” Norbash said. “Across the United States, we are short tens of thousands of primary-care physicians. Tele-consultations and physician extenders help address the problem, but it’s not the same as having physicians available.”
Norbash said research has shown that if you train medical students and residents in rural settings, they become accustomed to it and they stay in those communities. It’s something the school is seeing first-hand with the students at the St. Joseph campus and their enthusiasm for rural medicine.
“Even in the first year, many of the students were talking about their desire to settle down in specific rural communities in northwest Missouri,” Norbash said. “It's really heartwarming to see the student reaction. They have embraced this wholeheartedly.”