SIU School of Medicine announced on Thursday that a “fresh crop of new physicians” had been, on May 17, awarded degrees as part of the SIU Class of 2025.
The commencement ceremony at the University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center celebrated the 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 while Dr. Daniel Mahony, president of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, conferred the medical degrees.
In his commencement address, Dr. Kevin Simon emphasized the importance of curiosity, humility, and empathy.
“The most powerful medicine is sometimes invisible. It’s made of attention. Stillness. Dignity.”
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 be safe. And you might be the first doctor to make them feel that way.”
Dr. Molly Smith, chair of the Class of 2025, also spoke at the event, delivering 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.”
Honored Carbondale faculty include 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 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 in the Department of Medical Humanities and the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and 2025 graduate Dr. Sidney Nyquist 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 notes that it’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 BY REGION
CENTRAL ILLINOIS
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Amber Bottrell | Chatham | Robert and Ruth Bottrell | Pediatrics | Med Coll Wisconsin Affil Hosps
Patrick Bruch | Peoria | Michael and Kathryn Bruch | Phys Medicine & Rehab | U Kentucky Med Ctr
Annah Carney | Springfield | Brett and Dianne Carney | Dermatology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Bethany Daniels | Buffalo | Carla Daniels and the late Mitchell Daniels | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
David Farmer | Springfield | John and Sarah Farmer + Ali Farmer | General Surgery | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Benjamin Gallaher | Brighton | Randall and Karen Gallaher + MacKenzie Gallaher | Family Medicine | Montana Family Medicine
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
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
Morgan McCain | Springfield | Tony and Nicole Rottinghaus / spouse | Urology | LSU Health Science Center
Sophia Mounce | Springfield | Daniel and Diane Mounce | Emergency Medicine | U Kentucky Med Ctr
John Padanilam | Springfield | Basil and Anne Padanilam | Pediatrics | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
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
Zachary Settelmyer | Peoria | Scott and Lynne Settelmyer | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Fletcher Summa | Peoria | Michael Summa and Lari LaBello | Psychiatry | U Illinois COM-Peoria CarleHM
Alexis Thomas | Springfield | Mathew and Jennifer Power + Jeffrey Thomas | Family Medicine/Asheville | Mountain AHEC-NC
Megan Tomlin | Auburn | Troy and Carol Tomlin | Emergency Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Erika Ward | Springfield | John and Cindy Ward | Family Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Adam Western | Rochester | Randy and Jennifer Western | Internal Medicine | U Arizona COM-Tucson
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Ian Alberts | Smithton | Dean and Shari Alberts | Medicine-Preliminary / Ophthalmology | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Maia Cain | Granite City | Matthew and Jeanine Cain | Obstetrics-Gynecology | Univ of Missouri-KC Programs
Mary Drone | West Frankfort | Patrick and Lisa Drone | Pediatrics | St Louis Childrens Hosp-MO
Kiri Evans | Belleville | Charles and Martha Evans | Emergency Medicine | John Peter Smith Hosp-TX
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
Eryn Gould | Mount Carmel | Patrick and Tamara Gould | Emergency Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Reem Khader | Carbondale | Refat Khader and Marwa Omran | Emergency Medicine | U Illinois COM-Peoria OSF
Maryam Makhdoom | Carbondale | Dr. Zahoor and Sumera Makhdoom | Medicine-Preliminary | Ascension St Francis-IL
Zachary Moore | Cobden | Gregory Moore and Melissa Naas + Ashten Moore | Family Medicine | U Florida COM-Shands Hosp
Sydney Nyquist | Highland | David and Janet Nyquist | Psychiatry | 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
Austin Rue | Mt. Carmel | Bradley and Christine Rue | Emergency Medicine | W Michigan U Stryker SOM
Molly Smith | Johnston City | Jason and Lori Smith | Plastic Surgery (Integrated) | Indiana University SOM
Garrett Sweatt | Edwardsville | Andy Sweatt and Valerie Livesay | Vascular Surgery | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Grace Thompson | Edwardsville | Timothy and Jill Thompson | Psychiatry | Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO
Brock Tonazzi | Marion | Mark and Lori Tonazzi | Radiology-Diagnostic | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Taryn Weatherly | Elizabethtown | Eric and Angie Weatherly | Family Medicine | Penn State Hershey Med Ctr-PA
Avani Yaganti | O’Fallon | Srinivasarao and Anita Yaganti | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
EASTERN ILLINOIS
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Michael Brown | Champaign | David and Michele Brown | Internal Medicine | U Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Zachary Cheng | Bloomington | Hoi Cheng and Fang Li | Med-Prelim/Neurology | Brown Univ/Rhode Island Hosp
Alexis Corzine | Saint Joseph | Thomas and Carla Dickey | Anesthesiology/Clin Base Yr | U Washington Affil Hosps
Matt Demir | Normal | Sakin and Gulay Demir | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Gautami Galpalli | Bloomington | Goverdhan and Suchitra Galpalli
Samuel Gubbins | Champaign | Bruce and Rachel Gubbins | Emergency Medicine | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Kevin Le Mentec | Bloomington | Jean-Christophe Le Mentec and Zsuzsanna Fagyal-Le Mentec | Neurology | U Illinois COM-Chicago
Natalie McClure | Bourbonnais | Philip and Bridget McClure | Pediatrics | Mayo Clinic School of Grad Med Educ-MN
Yosra Nadhimi | Champaign | Felahaldean Nadhimi and Asraa Ibrahim | Med-Prelim/Neurology-NShore | Univ of Chicago Med Ctr-IL
Mark Overby | Bloomington | Michael and Karen Overby | Psychiatry | Carle Foundation Hosp-IL
Lindsay Stine | Macon | Charles and Kim Stine + Eric Alba | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Andrew Tresslar | Charleston | Jon and Jennifer Tresslar | Emergency Medicine | Western Michigan Univ Stryker SOM
Jacob Ward | Downs | Douglas and Stephanie Ward | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
WESTERN ILLINOIS
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Summer Lawrence | Rock Island | Mike Lawrence and Sherry Maurer | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Taylor Nesselroad | Galesburg | James Nesselroad and Valerie Flacco | Pediatrics | U Michigan Hosps-Ann Arbor
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
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Olubukola Ayegbusi | Aurora | Ojo and Lara Ayegbusi | Internal Medicine/UIH | U Illinois COM-Chicago
Andrew Buchheit | Homer Glen | Brian and Maria Buchheit | Internal Medicine | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Brix Clayton | Polo | Ken Clayton and Lisa Garber Clayton | Anesthesiology | Loyola Univ Med Ctr-IL
Rachel Domingos | Chicago | William and the late Ann Peoples and Ken Mubeen | Anesthesiology | SSM Health/St Louis Univ SOM-MO
Natalie Jaramillo | Brookfield | Ruben Jaramillo and Martha Martinez | Obstetrics-Gynecology | SIU SOM & Affil Hosps-IL
Peyton Keller | Byron | Michael and Brenda Keller | Emergency Medicine | U Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Stella Udoetuk | Matteson | Ekaete Obong | Anesthesiology/4 Yr | Northwestern McGaw/NMH/VA-IL
Ashley-Ann Walker | Aurora | Hopeton Walker and Shelley Walters-Walker | Urology | Rush University Medical Center
OUT OF STATE
Name | Hometown | Parents + Spouse | Specialty | Hospital
Paetyn Cage | Huntersville, NC | Roland and Homella Cage | Medicine-Pediatrics | Emory Univ SOM-GA
Djamina Esperance | Port-Au-Prince, Haiti | Pierre and Chrismene Esperance | Med-Peds/Harvard BWH/CHB | MGB-Brigham & Womens Hosp-MA
Victoria Idowu | St. Paul, MN | Christianah Akinlosotu | Pediatrics | Loyola Univ Med Ctr-IL
Sidney Leno | Gaithersburg, MD | Michel and Marie Leno
Stephanie Viteri | Quito, Ecuador | Edgar Viteri and Lidia Galarza | Surgery-Preliminary | Wellspan Health York Hosp-PA
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