An afternoon commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 31 honored 472 graduates from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, representing students from the Erie, Elmira and Seton Hill campuses.

The graduates are entering the workforce at a time where many communities continue searching for physicians and health care providers.

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“Shortage of physicians that we’re going to have in the long run here — that we already have — it’s only getting worse as our generations get older. And these graduates have a lot of emphasis on how they’re going to help us through that,” Dr. Kevin Thomas, associate dean of academic affairs for LECOM Seton Hill, said.

LECOM stated that more than 1,100 degrees were awarded across its campuses this year, adding new professionals to a range of health care fields.

“I matched into a residency position in family medicine at Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood, Texas, where I will be serving the United States Army soldiers, and their family members and retirees, primarily,” said Walter Holtgrefe, a graduating doctor of osteopathic medicine.

“So I’m going into emergency medicine which is a growing field. It’s probably one of the younger specialties, and things are changing constantly. We’re seeing people on the hardest days of their lives and really just making sure they feel comfortable in that challenging time,” Ariana Incantalupo, a graduating doctor of osteopathy, said.

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Thomas added that this class is unique because they are one of the last classes to be affected by COVID-19. As a result, everyone who studied at LECOM in this graduating class adapted with a more patient skill set.

“This is a graduating class that had all the struggles of COVID; interrupting their education, interrupting their development as young adults,” Thomas said. “We saw how powerful they were as a group of people.”

LECOM officials said many of this year’s graduates will spend the coming years in residency programs before eventually serving patients in hospitals, clinics and medical practices nationwide.

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