A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) celebrated the achievements of the class of 2025 at its commencement ceremony, held at the Mesa Arts Center on Friday, May 9, 2025. Along with 75 graduates earning their doctor of dental medicine degrees, 10 students were also awarded master of public health degrees.
The ceremony included remarks from ATSU-ASDOH Dean Desmond Gallagher, BDS, MA, FACD, at his first commencement ceremony, as well as ATSU Chancellor Craig M. Phelps, DO, ’84, and O.T. Wendel, PhD, president, ATSU Arizona & California campuses.
Tobias E. Rodriguez, PhD, strategic initiatives manager at the University of Pittsburgh, delivered this year’s commencement address. Jeremy Sant, DDS, assistant professor, led students in reciting the oath to the profession.
Watch the full ceremony and check out more photos below!
Joined by Wayne Tormala, an Emmy award-winning public health consultant, Dr. Kerzin addressed the often-overlooked issue of compassion fatigue, a state of emotional and physical exhaustion that can affect those who care for others. The workshop served as a reminder that caring for others begins with caring for ourselves.
Dr. Kerzin explored strategies to maintain balance and resilience, as well as ways to to help students, staff, and faculty identify and navigate signs of burnout. To conclude the workshop, attendees were guided through a brief group meditation led by Dr. Kerzin, encouraging them to take a moment to reflect on their own well-being.
A.T. Still University (ATSU) held its fourth annual Graduate Health Professions Scholarship (GPS) Golf Tournament on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the Superstition Springs Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona.
The GPS is designed to support students who are pursuing degrees in healthcare fields including medicine, dentistry, and more, accentuating the University’s unique mission of service and leadership in whole person healthcare. The scholarship is awarded to students based on their academic achievements, financial need, and commitment to their profession.
This year’s tournament award winners were:
Men’s first place – Omega-Davis Team (Andrew Davis, Jerrold Boudreaux, Jeff Foster, Mayon Neal)
Women’s first place – MahoganyXan Inc. Team (LaTricia Woods, Pamela Williamson, Tameka Hartman, Ashley Kelly)
Second place – Flores Team (Benjamin Flores, Hector Yazzie, Steven Esparza, Abel Esparza)
Third place – YMCA Team (Greg Bouslog, Robert Wollenzien, Dustin Panoff, Thomas Disch)
Men’s Closest to the Pin – Brent Davis
Women’s Closest to the Pin – Jamie Miokiff
Men’s Longest Drive – Thomas Disch
Women’s Longest Drive – Desiree Dugger
Putting Contest Winner – Clinton Normore
Interested in supporting ATSU’s Graduate Health Professions Scholarship fund? Click here to donate. All outright gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
“I believe this program will make me more competitive when applying to PA programs and increase my chances of acceptance in the next cycle, ultimately helping me achieve my goal of becoming a PA,” said Khokhar, who also holds bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and chemical engineering.
A unique online learning opportunity for individuals aspiring to pursue enrollment in PA school, the MSBMS program consists of 45 credit hours of study, which can be completed over the course of nine months. MSBMS graduates with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and who meet the prerequisite requirements will also be granted an interview with ATSU-ASHS’ PA program.
For Khokhar, who works full time, finding a program with maximum flexibility to continue her career outside of the classroom was essential. Despite the program being 100% online, she has built strong relationships with program faculty, who are experienced PAs with a passion for the profession.
“Whenever I emailed a member of the program, I received an immediate response, whether it was an administrative inquiry or a question about the content. Everyone was always eager to help,” she said.
The program’s science-based curriculum, consisting of classes like biochemistry essentials and medical writing, strengthens students’ academic backgrounds through clinically oriented, graduate-level training.
Though challenging, Khokhar has developed strong time management skills that allow her to maintain a healthy work/life balance while staying on top of her coursework.
“I didn’t wait until the last minute to complete assignments. Instead, I worked on them a little bit each day and listened to the audiobook versions of the textbooks to stay on track,” she said.
Additionally, the MSBMS program works with students on application preparation, interprofessional collaboration, and communication strategies to improve interview skills, all tools Khokhar is confident will help her stand out in the next PA admissions cycle.
“It can be easy to get wrapped up in anatomy lab, dissections, and studying for our exams, so being a part of this ceremony was a reminder that much of our medical education is thanks to the selfless donations of the body donors,” said Victoria Le, OMS I, anatomy club officer, who helped to organize this year’s ceremony.
“The body donors had their own stories and reasons for why they wanted to donate their bodies to science, and it is up to us to continue on their legacy and stories.”
Students, faculty, and staff gathered on the front lawn of the Mesa, Arizona, campus to express their gratitude and recognize the generous sacrifices made by each body donor.
Le added, “Though we are only first-year osteopathic medical students, I know that our successes five or 10 years down the line will be because of the great contributions the body
Below is a recap of some of the events that occurred on the Missouri campus last quarter.
Faculty Appreciation
This spring, we hosted our third annual Faculty Appreciation Event in collaboration with the Research and Support Services department. Events were held on the Kirksville, St. Louis, and Arizona campuses, celebrating our faculty and highlighting how the library supports teaching and research. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make each event a success! We look forward to continuing these connections—reach out anytime to explore how the library can support your work.
New Faculty Open House Recap – February 26
We were excited to welcome new faculty members to the library during our New Faculty Open House held on February 26. It was a great opportunity to connect, share library services and resources, and highlight how we support teaching, research, and student success. Thank you to everyone who stopped by! If you missed it, feel free to reach out, we’re always happy to connect and collaborate.
This spring, we hosted several PubMed Sessions open to all, aiming to enhance research skills and provide valuable resources. The sessions included the following topics: Maximizing PubMed for Your Research, Advanced PubMed Techniques, Efficient Searching in PubMed: Tips and Tricks. Thank you to everyone who participated, and we look forward to offering more sessions in Fall 2025 to support your research needs. Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities!
Wellness at the Library
Did you know the library offers wellness resources to help you stay active and unwind? We have bikes, treadmills, and a selection of puzzles available for use. Whether you’re looking for a quick workout or a relaxing mental break, we’ve got something to help you recharge. Stop by and make wellness a part of your day!
A message from our University Library Director, Hal Bright:
I wanted to begin by giving the library’s heartfelt congratulations to all our graduates this year. This is the culmination of our mission and makes all the hard work of our staff and faculty alike an amazing achievement. The library has had an amazing spring. We had numerous exhibits and programming efforts this spring. From PubMed to Artificial Intelligence to Data Management, our librarians are sharing their knowledge to further research and scholarship at ATSU…I applaud them.
We held our third annual Faculty Appreciation Week at all our campuses in April. I hope you were able to attend one of our reception events in Mesa, Kirksville, or St Louis. We even had an online engagement activity for our remote-classified faculty and staff. We thank Research Support in their collaboration with this for this event.
This Spring we have collaborated with ITS and highlighted AI use cases across teaching, research, and everyday work tasks. I encourage you to take a look at our March and April sessions.
As always, please feel free to contact me for any praise or question or issue you may have related to the libraries.
Best,
Hal Bright
Arizona campus library updates
The AZ Campus library has seen many small improvements this semester. We have added several anatomy models, some additional chargers and last and most impressive, a 3D Printer. As part of National Library Week, in addition to our candy guessing game and “blind date with a book” activity, the library held a “Name-the-3D-printer Contest”. As of printing, the name had yet to be decided but keep watching our notifications for its new name. This will help the library deliver more quickly 3D prints for our students and faculty.
Over the semester we have solicited student input on updates to the library setup. Watch for changes based on this input. They will be small, but noticeable.
Finally, we want to thank everyone who attended or participated in our Spring programming and services, especially our April Faculty Appreciation Week reception. We appreciate you and hope that you felt celebrated for your 2024 publishing accomplishments.
We are excited for the late Spring graduations and the entry of new students to our campus in July. Reach out to your Arizona liaisons, Laura Barkema, Leslie Golamb, or Hal Bright for any questions or guidance we can provide.
Best,
Hal Bright, ASDOH Liaison Librarian Leslie Golamb, ASHS and SOMA Liaison Librarian Laura Barkema, ASHS Liaison Librarian Mohammad Aslam, Electronic Resources Librarian Marimar Murillo, Library Assistant
California campus library updates
Dot Winslow, staff chair of the DECC committee, assisted the student co-chairs of the SGA DEI sub-committee Dante Chisholm and Citlallic Gonzalez, in hosting a 20 booth Diversity Fair on April 16, 2025. Students in the CCPA program volunteered to host booths representing a variety of their cultures, religions, and countries.
If you have any questions or require assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact Hal Bright (hbright@atsu.edu) in Arizona or Dot Winslow (dorothywinslow@atsu.edu) in California.
Awarded to graduate students who have shown exemplary service in the profession of communication sciences, this prestigious scholarship is given to only 10 recipients nationwide. Hoerner is the first ATSU-ASHS SLP student to receive this honor.
Hoerner serves as an ATSU student ambassador and vice president of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA). She has led numerous initiatives to promote awareness and inclusion in the field of communication sciences, and is committed to providing service to the Deaf community.
Dr. Story and Dr. Shearon were honored during the NAP’s annual induction banquet and awards ceremony on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Washington.
NAP is a nonprofit organization that advises governmental bodies on the healthcare system and strives to advance interprofessional education, scholarship, research, practice, and public policy within multiple health professions. Members of NAP work to improve access to affordable, quality healthcare for all, and are distinguished healthcare practitioners and scholars who are elected by their peers.
Both Dr. Shearon and Dr. Story were recognized for their dedication to scholarly advancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and excellence in education.
