The sound of bagpipes means one of few things: graduation. The William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB)’s charter class took the first steps across the stage as an accredited program.

On Friday, May 15, the class had its commencement ceremony in the O’rena. After a five-year process, OUWB earned its accreditation, making the graduating the first students to graduate from an accredited school.

Chief Academic Officer of the Association of Academic Medical Colleges (AAMC), John E. Prescott, served as the commencement speaker for the ceremony. He introduced and congratulated each graduate as they entered and exited the stage.

Prescott and his staff see to it that medical schools across the nation hold effective and efficient administration. He also manages the AAMC’s contribution to the White House Joining Forces initiative.

It was also part of Prescott’s agenda as the commencement speaker to award author, artist and AIDS advocate Mary Fisher with an honorary degree.

Fisher has survived AIDS and cancer and now has added internationally recognized designer to he resume. She is the recipient of three honorary doctorates, is the author of six books, as serves as the trustee for several charities.

“I’ve been a patient longer than you’ve been a physician,” Fisher said to the graduates.

She wished for them to have “the courage to be intimate and nobility to be weak.”

“When you can’t cure the pain, be prepared to endure it,” she told the audience.

The charter class chose Doctor Saad Sahi to give a speech on their behalf. Sahi specializes in general surgery and studied at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and Northeastern University.

“We learned a lot from our mistakes because we could make them our way – there was no guidance from upperclassmen. We are the sum of influence. Work hard, be kind, stay humble,” Sahi said to and for his peers.

Walking across the stage were 47 students in the first-ever commencement ceremony. Friends, family and mentors were on hand to offer congratulations.