An MPH at the Boston Marathon: HBHE Graduate's Remarks by Jillian Reich

Click to watch video of Jilian's graduation remarks

"Good afternoon. I would first like to take a moment to welcome and thank you all for being here to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the class of 2013. To the family, friends, and faculty - thank you for believing in us even when we did not always believe in ourselves.

Three weeks ago I had a speech written that described my journey to the University of Michigan and my experiences at the School of Public Health. After graduating in December, I moved to the wonderful city of Boston, Massachusetts where I began the position of Emergency Preparedness Educator with Boston Emergency Medical Services. My first major assignment was to work in a medical tent located at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 

As you know, that day, with what started as over 30,000 people running towards the heart of downtown Boston, with dreams of crossing the finish line 26.2 miles later, ended with thousands of people running for their lives.

If I close my eyes, I can still feel the fear. I can hear the explosions. I can hear the sirens. I can smell the smoke and I can see the ambulance lights. But on that day, I also saw something else, something more powerful than all of these images. I saw incredible courage and selflessness. I saw the most skilled, coordinated, and compassionate first response that this country has seen in decades. I saw resiliency. And I saw hope.

Michigan has given us the tools to operate under immense pressure, the strength to be leaders, and the heart to continue working despite adversity. I believe that part of this mentality has been taught to us but I also believe that part of it is innate. It is in our DNA and it is inside each and every one of us. If I had to wake up tomorrow and relive the 15^th of April again, I would. And the only thing I would do differently is to find a way to do it better. That is the Michigan difference. That is what sets Public Health apart from the rest. 

President Barack Obama once stated: “Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, but who have the courage to remake the world as it should be”.

In the few short weeks that I have been a working professional, I have learned a great deal about hope. And what I hope for the class of 2013 is that we will never settle. That we will always be restless. And that we will never give up the fight to better the world. Today, it may feel like achieving three letters behind our last name is the most important thing we will ever do. It is not. It is what we do with those letters that will define our legacy.

Congratulations Class of 2013… and may you always, Go Blue!"


For more photos from SPH's 2013 graduation, visit SPH's Flicker set.

What do you hope to be the legacy of our generation of public health professionals? Leave a comment below!!