74 new physicians graduate from SIU School of Medicine
The Prairie State welcomed a fresh crop of new physicians on May 17, as Southern Illinois University School of Medicine awarded degrees to the Class of 2025. The commencement ceremony at the University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center celebrated achievements of the 74 graduates and featured remarks from faculty members, alumni and honorees.
SIU School of Medicine Dean and Provost Dr. Jerry Kruse presented diplomas to the students and Dr. Daniel Mahony, president of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, conferred the medical degrees.
In his commencement address, Dr. Kevin Simon (right) emphasized the importance of curiosity, humility and empathy. “The most powerful medicine is sometimes invisible. It’s made of attention. Stillness. Dignity,” he said. Simon is a psychiatrist and the inaugural chief behavioral health officer for the city of Boston. He is also a graduate of SIU School of Medicine (Class of 2015) and of SIU’s MEDPREP.
Simon encouraged the new doctors to remain resilient, open-hearted and purpose-driven in the face of clinical and emotional challenges. “Because somewhere, right now—literally right now—there’s a child wondering if they’ll get care. Wondering if they'll be safe. And you might be the first doctor to make them feel that way.”
Dr. Molly Smith, chair of the Class of 2025 (left), delivered remarks on behalf of the graduates. She spoke of the love and pride she feels for her classmates and the bonds they’ve forged. “The connections built here, the friendships, the memories, the laughter and the late nights, they won’t fade. They’ll travel with us into every patient room, every call shift, every small and extraordinary moment of our careers,” she said.
Honored Carbondale faculty included Dr. Amanda Mulch, Dr. Jennifer Rose, Dr. Nick Weshinskey and Dr. Diana Sarko. The latter was named Carbondale Teacher of the Year.
The Class of 2025 selected Dr. Gabriel Tobón (right) to receive the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Tobón is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology.
The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards were presented to a faculty member and recent graduate for their exemplary care and compassion shown to patients, family members and learners. Dr. Kelly Hurst (far left) in the Department of Medical Humanities and the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and 2025 graduate Dr. Sidney Nyquist (left) were this year’s recipients.
Three distinguished medical school alumni were recognized in categories that highlighted their accomplishments in health care:
- Achievement - Dr. June McKoy (’89)
- Service - Dr. David Henderson (’81)
- Early Career Impact - Dr. Lacey Kruse (’09)
SIU Medicine’s mission is to optimize the health of the people of central and southern Illinois through education, patient care, research and service to the community. Established in 1970, the medical school is based dually in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities. Since 1975, 3,386 physicians have earned SIU medical degrees.
The new SIU physicians will begin residency training in their chosen specialties in June. Destinations are included in the lists below.
View the commencement ceremony on YouTube. Graduate portraits and photos from the event are available at Zenfolio.
SIU MEDICINE GRADUATES
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Ian Alberts | Smithton | Dean and Shari Alberts | Medicine-Preliminary / Ophthalmology | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Olubukola Ayegbusi | Aurora | Ojo and Lara Ayegbusi | Internal Medicine/UIH | U Illinois COM-Chicago
Amber Bottrell | Chatham | Robert and Ruth Bottrell | Pediatrics | Med Coll Wisconsin Affil Hosps
Michael Brown | Champaign | David and Michele Brown | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Patrick Bruch | Peoria | Michael and Kathryn Bruch | Phys Medicine & Rehab | U Kentucky Med Ctr
Andrew Buchheit | Homer Glen | Brian and Maria Buchheit | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Paetyn Cage | Huntersville, NC | Roland and Homella Cage | Medicine-Pediatrics | Emory Univ SOM-GA
Maia Cain | Granite City | Matthew and Jeanine Cain | Obstetrics-Gynecology | Univ of Missouri-KC Programs
Annah Carney | Springfield | Brett and Dianne Carney | Dermatology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Zachary Cheng | Bloomington | Hoi Cheng and Fang Li | Med-Prelim/Neurology | Brown Univ/Rhode Island Hosp
Brix Clayton | Polo | Ken Clayton and Lisa Garber Clayton | Anesthesiology | Loyola Univ Med Ctr-IL
Alexis Corzine | Saint Joseph | Thomas and Carla Dickey | Anesthesiology/Clin Base Yr | U Washington Affil Hosps
Bethany Daniels | Buffalo | Carla Daniels and the late Mitchell Daniels | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Matt Demir | Normal | Sakin and Gulay Demir | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Rachel Domingos | Chicago | William and the late Ann Peoples and Ken Mubeen | Anesthesiology | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Mary Drone | West Frankfort | Patrick and Lisa Drone | Pediatrics | St Louis Childrens Hosp-MO
Djamina Esperance | Port-Au-Prince, Haiti | Pierre and Chrismene Esperance | Med-Peds/Harvard BWH/CHB | MGB-Brigham & Womens Hosp-MA
Kiri Evans | Belleville | Charles and Martha Evans | Emergency Medicine | John Peter Smith Hosp-TX
David Farmer | Springfield | John and Sarah Farmer + Ali Farmer | General Surgery | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Austyn Frassato | Goreville | Robert and Leslie Frassato + Kylee Frassato | Pathology | University of Nebraska Med Ctr
Kaitlyn Frick | Edwardsville | Scott and Connie Frick | Psychiatry | Emory Univ SOM-GA
Benjamin Gallaher | Brighton | Randall and Karen Gallaher + MacKenzie Gallaher | Family Medicine | Montana Family Medicine
Gautami Galpalli | Bloomington | Goverdhan and Suchitra Galpalli | Internal Medicine | NYU
Eryn Gould | Mount Carmel | Patrick and Tamara Gould | Emergency Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Sam Gubbins | Champaign | Bruce and Rachel Gubbins | Emergency Medicine | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Hailey Hollinshead | Springfield | Ganesh and Karuna Ganga | Dermatology | Marshfield Clinic-WI
Emma Hughes | Rochester | Brad and Stephanie Hughes | Phys Medicine & Rehab | University of Utah Health
Victoria Idowu | St. Paul, MN | Christianah Akinlosotu | Pediatrics | Loyola Univ Med Ctr-IL
Natalie Jaramillo | Brookfield | Ruben Jaramillo and Martha Martinez | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Elisa Jensen | Dunlap | Jeff and Cheryl Jensen | Psychiatry/Child Psych | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Thomas Johnston | Springfield | Matthew and Linda Johnston + Hannah Roberts | Emergency Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Evan Juranek | Springfield | Robert and Carole Juranek | Family Medicine | University Hosps-Columbia-MO
Taylor Justison | Chatham | Mark and Kathy Justison | Medicine-Preliminary/ Phys Medicine & Rehab | University Hosps-Columbia-MO
Peyton Keller | Byron | Michael and Brenda Keller | Emergency Medicine | U Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Reem Khader | Carbondale | Refat Khader and Marwa Omran | Emergency Medicine | U Illinois COM-Peoria OSF
Summer Lawrence | Rock Island | Mike Lawrence and Sherry Maurer | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Kevin Le Mentec | Bloomington | Jean-Christophe Le Mentec and Zsuzsanna Fagyal-Le Mentec | Neurology | U Illinois COM-Chicago
Sidney Leno | Gaithersburg, MD | Michel and Marie Leno
Maryam Makhdoom | Carbondale | Dr. Zahoor and Sumera Makhdoom | Medicine-Preliminary | Ascension St Francis-IL
Morgan McCain | Springfield | Tony and Nicole Rottinghaus / spouse | Urology | LSU Health Science Center
Natalie McClure | Bourbonnais | Philip and Bridget McClure | Pediatrics | Mayo Clinic School of Grad Med Educ-MN
Zachary Moore | Cobden | Gregory Moore and Melissa Naas + Ashten Moore | Family Medicine | U Florida COM-Shands Hosp
Sophia Mounce | Springfield | Daniel and Diane Mounce | Emergency Medicine | U Kentucky Med Ctr
Yosra Nadhimi | Champaign | Felahaldean Nadhimi and Asraa Ibrahim | Med-Prelim/Neurology-NShore | Univ of Chicago Med Ctr-IL
Taylor Nesselroad | Galesburg | James Nesselroad and Valerie Flacco | Pediatrics | U Michigan Hosps-Ann Arbor
Sydney Nyquist | Highland | David and Janet Nyquist | Psychiatry | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Mark Overby | Bloomington | Michael and Karen Overby | Psychiatry | Carle Foundation Hosp-IL
John Padanilam | Springfield | Basil and Anne Padanilam | Pediatrics | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Jay Patel | Collinsville | Pragnesh and Mina Patel | Emergency Medicine | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Drew Ratliff | Wood River | Darren and Ginger Ratliff | Internal Medicine | U Louisville SOM-KY
Carmensa Remolina | Springfield | Rodrigo and Melissa Remolina | Family Medicine | Mayo Clini School of Grad Med Educ-MN
Trent Rich | Metamora | Mark Rich and Carla Rose | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Hannah Roberts | Springfield | William Roberts and Mary Gorman + Thomas Johnston | Radiology-Diagnosti | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Austin Rue | Mt. Carmel | Bradley and Christine Rue | Emergency Medicine | W Michigan U Stryker SOM
Brendan Seabold | Quincy | Steven and Lisa Seabold | Emergency Medicine | U Kansas SOM-Kansas City
Tyler Seal | Rushville | Drew and Yvette Seal | Emergency Medicine | Penn State Hershey Med Ctr-PA
Zachary Settelmyer | Peoria | Scott and Lynne Settelmyer | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Molly Smith | Johnston City | Jason and Lori Smith | Plastic Surgery (Integrated) | Indiana University SOM
Lindsay Stine | Macon | Charles and Kim Stine + Eric Alba | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Fletcher Summa | Peoria | Michael Summa and Lari LaBello | Psychiatry | U Illinois COM-Peoria CarleHM
Garrett Sweatt | Edwardsville | Andy Sweatt and Valerie Livesay | Vascular Surgery | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Alexis Thomas | Springfield | Mathew and Jennifer Power + Jeffrey Thomas | Family Medicine/Asheville| Mountain AHEC-NC
Grace Thompson | Edwardsville | Timothy and Jill Thompson | Psychiatry | Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO
Megan Tomlin | Auburn | Troy and Carol Tomlin | Emergency Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Brock Tonazzi | Marion | Mark and Lori Tonazzi | Radiology-Diagnostic | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Andrew Tresslar | Charleston | Jon and Jennifer Tresslar | Emergency Medicine | Western Michigan Univ Stryker SOM
Stella Udoetuk | Matteson | Ekaete Obong | Anesthesiology/4 Yr | Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA-IL
Stephanie Viteri | Quito, Ecuador | Edgar Viteri and Lidia Galarza | Surgery-Preliminary | Wellspan Health York Hosp-PA
Ashley-Ann Walker | Aurora | Hopeton Walker and Shelley Walters-Walker | Urology | Rush University Medical Center
Erika Ward | Springfield | John and Cindy Ward | Family Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Jacob Ward | Downs | Douglas and Stephanie Ward | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Taryn Weatherly | Elizabethtown | Eric and Angie Weatherly | Family Medicine | Penn State Hershey Med Ctr-PA
Adam Western | Rochester | Randy and Jennifer Western | Internal Medicine | U Arizona COM-Tucson
Avani Yaganti | O'Fallon | Srinivasarao and Anita Yaganti | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinic
