2025 Commencement Valedictorian Jamie Gabriel Inspires Graduates with a Call to Lead with Balance, Compassion, and Service

At the 91性息港 of Health Sciences 2025 Commencement Ceremony, Jamie Gabriel, valedictorian for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant program, delivered an inspiring and deeply personal address that captured the heart of SCU鈥檚 Whole Health mission.

Balancing multiple roles as a full-time Los Angeles County Fire Department captain, a graduate student, and a parent, Gabriel spoke powerfully about perseverance, leadership through service, and the importance of balance 鈥� not only in patient care, but in life itself.

Her remarks resonated with graduates across programs, offering a reminder that healthcare is not just about treating disease, but about honoring people, nurturing wellness, and sustaining the healer as much as the healed.

Jamie Gabriel鈥檚 Commencement Speech

Good morning, esteemed faculty, family, friends, and my fellow graduates. My name is Jamie Gabriel. I’m a candidate for the Master of Science in the Physician Assistant program, and I also serve full-time as a fire captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Returning to school later in life, having already established a full-time career in the fire service, may have seemed unconventional, but my desire was driven by the need to set an example for my kids that it is never too early or too late to pursue their dreams with courage and purpose.

I want to thank the people in my life who made it possible. My husband, Jason; my mom, Jeanette; my mother-in-law, Kitty; my three kids, Kylie, Bradley, and Carter; my fire department family; and, of course, my fellow classmates in the PA program.

Today’s achievement is a collective effort shaped by everyone who believed in us, those who challenged us, and those who lifted us when we needed it most. To all of the family and friends in here, viewing from the overflow room or watching online, it is your encouragement, patience, and love that gave us the strength to stay the course and pursue a calling in medicine.

To my fellow graduates. Throughout this journey, we have studied the science of the human body, but we have also learned the value of balance. Balance between science and compassion, between evidence-based practice and human connection, and understanding the difference between curing a disease and promoting wellness.

Our patients don’t come to us as symptoms or lab values. They come as people with stories, fears, hopes, and dreams. As integrative health practitioners, it is our responsibility to see the whole person and to also extend that compassion inward to ourselves because balance doesn’t just apply to our patient care.

It is something we must cultivate in our own lives. In healthcare, finding balance is not a luxury. It is essential, and it’s vital that we understand that our ability to provide patient care is directly tied to the balance we maintain in our own lives, our relationships, our health, and our mental well-being.

As we prepare to enter this next chapter, I want to leave you with a few thoughts on leadership. Leadership in healthcare is not about authority. It is about the responsibility of service to others and taking ownership over our patients鈥� outcome. It means rejecting excuses when it may seem easier to blame the system, staff shortages, insurance coverage, or even the patients themselves.

A true leader remains committed to the mission through humility, continued learning, and consistently showing up. Turning action into progress that surpasses barriers others may choose to accept. Having been trained in integrative health, we enter our careers with a distinct advantage. One built on a broader understanding of how people heal.

Our education pushed us to look beyond a single solution and, through integrative classes and workshops, taught us to work in collaboration across disciplines. This means we are already the leaders that healthcare needs. We don’t need permission, a title, or seniority. We need only to step into the potential we have spent years developing and apply it where others stop short. Moving past barriers that have held the system back for too long.

Class of 2025, we are ready for this moment. So let us move forward with confidence, humility, balance, and a relentless commitment to serve. Knowing that the future of healthcare will be changed by the choices we make, the limitations we refuse to accept, and the people we dedicate ourselves to healing.

Congratulations.

SCU President Dr. John Scaringe Delivers Commencement Message on Compassion to the Class of 2025

At 91性息港 of Health Sciences鈥� 2025 Commencement Ceremony, University President Dr. John Scaringe delivered a heartfelt and deeply personal address centered on one essential principle: compassion.

Speaking to graduates poised to enter the healthcare professions, Dr. Scaringe reminded the Class of 2025 that while clinical knowledge and technical expertise are critical, it is compassion 鈥� expressed through presence, dignity, and action 鈥� that ultimately defines meaningful leadership and healing.

Through personal stories drawn from his own life, Dr. Scaringe illustrated that compassion is not simply an abstract value or 鈥渟oft skill,鈥� but a courageous, active choice to show up for others during their most vulnerable moments. His message resonated strongly with SCU鈥檚 mission to educate healthcare leaders who care for the whole person 鈥� body, mind, and spirit.

Dr. Scaringe鈥檚 Commencement Speech

Today is truly a remarkable day for you, your families, your faculty, and let’s be honest, it’s also a remarkable day for anyone who no longer has to hear, 鈥淚 can’t, I have to study.鈥� You and your loved ones have waited a long time for this moment. Commencement ceremonies often invite big themes such as success, purpose, and, in our case, the future of healthcare.

But before we discuss any of that, I want to begin somewhere a little simpler, somewhere human. Somewhere, far from the clinics, the classroom, or accreditation reports. I want to start in a high school locker room. When I was a senior in high school, at the end of a senior tournament, I wrestled my final match, and I lost.

Now, if you’ve ever been 17, you are absolutely certain that the entire universe is paying attention to your every move. You know exactly what that felt like. So, I walked into the locker room, and I sat by myself. I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t hurt. I was simply disappointed. The kind that feels enormous right at that age, because most disappointments do.

A few minutes later. My father walked in. He didn’t tell me to shake it off. He didn’t give me a pep talk. He didn’t offer a replay of the footage of what I should have done, what I didn’t do, and what I could have done. He didn’t even give me that classic dad line of, 鈥淪omeday you’ll laugh at this,鈥� because he knew I wasn’t going to be laughing anytime soon.

He sat down next to me. Quiet, present, and even though the disappointment didn’t go away, something else happened. I didn’t feel alone anymore. Years later, I realized what he offered that day. It wasn’t advice, it wasn’t encouragement. It wasn’t even problem-solving. It was compassion. The quiet kind that doesn’t just fix the moment.

He doesn’t try to fix that moment, but he chooses to be in that moment with you, and that simple act has stayed with me throughout my life. Compassion is often confused with empathy. They’re related, but they’re not exactly the same.

For example, empathy is seeing someone on the side of the road on a rainy day fixing their flat tire, and you say to yourself. Oh, that poor son of a gun, that must be awful. Compassion is stopping, getting out, and helping them fix that flat tire. Compassion is movement. In other words, empathy feels, compassion moves.

Empathy understands the moment, and compassion enters it. And in healthcare, that is all the difference. Your patients won’t just need your knowledge. They won’t just need your technical expertise. They will need your presence, your willingness to step in the moment with them. That shift from feeling to doing is where healing begins in your career.

You will meet people on some of their hardest days鈥攑eople who feel vulnerable, afraid, confused, and overwhelmed. Two patients may walk in with the same diagnosis but carry entirely different stories. Compassion is what helps you treat the story as much as the symptoms. It shows up in small and often unnoticed ways when you take a moment longer to listen.

When you ask a question that nobody else has thought to ask, and when you acknowledge a fear, rather than rush past it. When you offer dignity in a time when someone feels exposed, not because the moment was any less painful, but when your presence says simply, you matter. Compassion doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence.

Presence is often the most healing thing you can offer. Whether or not you see yourself as a leader today, compassion will make you a leader. Leadership isn’t about authority. Leadership is the courage to act, to care, to advocate for someone who has no voice, to slow down when the world tells you to speed up, and to speak out when something isn’t right.

There will be days when you’re tired and rushed and stretched so thin that the easiest path is not the compassionate one. Those are the moments that define a career, not the easy decisions, the meaningful ones. Compassion is not a soft skill. It is a courage in everyday form.

A few months ago, I delivered my mother’s eulogy. It was one of the hardest moments in my life, but when I finished speaking, I did feel something unexpected: comfort, not because it was any less painful, because believe me, it wasn’t. But, because compassion had surrounded her during her final years from my brothers who were with her nearby in New York, from her caretakers, and from other loved ones. All from people who treated her with dignity.

Dignity when she needed it the most. In that moment, I understood clearly that compassion doesn’t erase pain, it doesn’t fix everything, but it does connect us when we need it the very most, and that connection can be transformational. So, as you step off the stage today into your professional lives, here is my hope for you.

Let your empathy become passion. Let your compassion become action. Let your presence be part of the healing you provide. Show up for people, not perfectly, but fully. Listen with patience, advocate with courage. Lead with your heart. Compassion isn’t something you add to healthcare. Compassion is healthcare, and when you lead with it, you will not only transform the lives of others. You will transform on your own as well.

I often think back to that moment in the locker room with my dad. He didn’t take away my disappointment. He didn’t change the outcome. He showed up. That’s compassion. Not fixing everything, not having the perfect words, just choosing to be there.

As you enter your profession, you will have countless opportunities to show up in moments, big and small, seen and unseen. Do it with courage, do it with humanity. Do it with passion.

Congratulations, graduates. Good luck and Godspeed.

Watch the full 2025 Commencement Ceremony, including President Scaringe鈥檚 address:

91性息港 of Health Sciences graduates 517 new healthcare professionals in 2025

91性息港 of Health Sciences听(SCU) hosted its annual commencement ceremony on Monday, December 15, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach conferring health science degrees to 517 graduates of the Class of 2025.

The commencement ceremony is available for on-demand viewing

The Class of 2025 represents the broad variety of SCU鈥檚 academic programs, with the Doctor of Occupational Therapy and Doctor of Medical Sciences programs each having their first graduating class. SCU鈥檚 class of 2025 has the following numbers of graduates in each respective program:

• 153 Doctor of Chiropractic graduates
  鈥� 124 Master of Science in Medical Science graduates
  鈥� 48 Master of Science in Human Genetics and Genomics graduates
  鈥� 47 Master of Science: Physician Assistant Program graduates
  鈥� 36 Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences graduates
  鈥� 23 Graduate Certificate in Pre-Genetic Counseling graduates
  鈥� 22 Doctor of Occupational Therapy graduates
  鈥� 21 Ayurveda Health Counselor Certificate graduates
  鈥� 16 Ayurveda Practitioner Certificate graduates
  鈥� 14 Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine graduates
  鈥� 10 Doctor of Medical Sciences graduates
  鈥� 2 Graduate Certificate in Human Genetics and Genomics graduates
  鈥� 1 Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine graduate

Dr. John Scaringe, President of 91性息港 of Health Sciences, delivered an inspiring and heartfelt address at the 2025 Commencement Ceremony, challenging the graduates to lead with compassion as they step into their professional careers.

Drawing from personal experiences, Dr. Scaringe emphasized that compassion goes beyond simply understanding another person鈥檚 struggle, reminding graduates that 鈥渆mpathy feels, but compassion moves.鈥� He encouraged students to view compassion as an active choice. One that requires presence, courage, and a willingness to show up for others during moments of vulnerability.

Throughout his remarks, Dr. Scaringe highlighted the critical role compassion plays in healthcare, noting that while knowledge and technical expertise are essential, they are not enough on their own.

鈥淐ompassion doesn鈥檛 require perfection. It requires presence,鈥� he said, underscoring the importance of truly being there for patients and treating not just symptoms, but the person behind the diagnosis. He also reframed compassion as a form of leadership, describing it as 鈥渃ourage in everyday form,鈥� especially during moments when taking the compassionate path may be the most challenging.

As he concluded, Dr. Scaringe left graduates with a powerful reminder that compassion is not an optional trait in healthcare, but a foundational one. 鈥淐ompassion isn鈥檛 something you add to healthcare 鈥� compassion is healthcare,鈥� he said, encouraging graduates to carry that mindset forward as they begin their careers and work to transform the lives of others through whole-person, human-centered care.

The ceremony also featured a reflective and inspiring commencement address from Dr. Russell Greenfield, a nationally recognized physician leader in Whole Health who has spent his career advancing human-centered models of care across healthcare systems nationwide. Dr. Greenfield has served in senior leadership roles with the Veterans Health Administration, the Whole Health Institute, and Novant Health鈥檚 Weisiger Cancer Institute, and continues to work directly with patients while helping communities build whole-person approaches to care.

In his remarks, Dr. Greenfield framed the healing professions as a sacred calling rooted in service, humility, and presence. He reminded graduates that true healing begins not with fixing problems, but with honoring lives, stating, 鈥淵ou see people not as problems to be fixed, but as lives to be honored.鈥� Drawing from personal experience and long-standing traditions within the healing arts, he encouraged graduates to approach their work with gratitude and compassion, even in the smallest moments of care.

As he concluded, Dr. Greenfield offered the Class of 2025 a message of reassurance and purpose, emphasizing that meaningful impact does not require grand gestures. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not your responsibility to heal the world鈥� and yet, odds are very good that you will,鈥� he said.

His words reinforced SCU鈥檚 commitment to Whole Health and left graduates with a powerful reminder that through humility, service, and presence, they are uniquely prepared to help shape the future of healthcare.

Graduating Master of Science: Physician Assistant program student Jamie Gabriel was named the SCU Class of 2025 valedictorian. She delivered a powerful and personal address that reflected perseverance, balance, and service in healthcare.

A full-time captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and a nontraditional student, Gabriel shared how returning to school later in life was driven by a commitment to lifelong learning and setting an example for her family.

In her remarks, Gabriel emphasized the importance of whole-person care and the responsibility healthcare professionals have to see beyond diagnoses and data points. 鈥淥ur patients don鈥檛 come to us as symptoms or lab values. They come as people with stories, fears, hopes, and dreams,鈥� she said, underscoring the integrative approach that defines SCU鈥檚 educational philosophy. She also highlighted the need for balance鈥攏ot only in patient care but also in clinicians鈥� own lives鈥攔eminding graduates that personal well-being is essential to providing meaningful, compassionate care.

Gabriel closed by challenging the Class of 2025 to lead with accountability and service. 鈥淟eadership in healthcare is not about authority. It is about the responsibility of service to others,鈥� she said, encouraging graduates to step confidently into the roles they are prepared to fill and help shape the future of healthcare through humility, balance, and purpose.

SCU鈥檚 听2025 Alumni of the Year Whole Health Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Valerie Johnson. Dr. Johnson embodies the spirit of this award through her pioneering leadership in integrative, whole-person healthcare. As one of the first chiropractors employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she has been instrumental in shaping the role of chiropractic in federal healthcare and advancing the VA Whole Health model.

Dr. Johnson鈥檚 commitment to inclusivity and diversity shines through the welcoming, collaborative environments she fosters for patients, colleagues, and learners. Through her compassion, advocacy, and clinical excellence, Dr. Johnson has redefined what integrative chiropractic can achieve.

The President鈥檚 Leadership Award was presented to Doctor of Chiropractic graduate George Zakhary for his leadership in contributing to the campus community, advocating for their chosen profession, and providing community service.

Photos and videos from the commencement ceremony can be viewed on SCU鈥檚 social media channels: , , and .

SCU鈥檚 Summer IPE Week Brings Together Over 200 Students from Eight Different Academic Programs

A record-breaking week of immersive, team-based learning prepares future healthcare professionals to lead in integrative, whole-person care.

From July 28, 2025, to August 1, 2025, the SCU Center for Interprofessional Education hosted Summer IPE Week on campus. The week brought together more than 200 students for hands-on learning that strengthened teamwork, communication, and whole-person care across health disciplines.

Students from eight programs worked side by side:

• Ayurveda
• Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
• Chiropractic
• Occupational Therapy
• Physician Assistant Studies
• Accelerated Sciences
• Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences
• Master of Science in Medical Science

Faculty designed activities that mirrored real clinical settings, so students could practice skills they will use with patients and teams.

鈥淚PE at SCU is where integrative, whole health comes to life,鈥� said Karina Madrigal, EdD, MA, Dean of Interprofessional Education. 鈥淥ur model is bold, inclusive, and transformative鈥攂ringing together students from both complementary and conventional medicine.鈥� She noted that interprofessional education is an institutionalized system embedded across more than 15 academic programs. Students learn with, from, and about one another, and they graduate ready to practice in team-based care settings. SCU鈥檚 model blends Eastern and Western care traditions to match how modern health systems operate and to prepare graduates to lead in integrative care.

Students rotated through team scenarios that required clear roles, shared decision-making, and direct communication with patients and caregivers. Sessions focused on three high-impact skills:

• Identifying system failures and contributing to a culture of safety and continuous quality improvement
• Handing off patients in a structured way to support safe care transitions
• Speaking with patients, families, and the care team in plain language to align on goals

These scenarios matched the pace and pressure of real practice, so teams could learn, adjust, and improve in the moment. Among the highlights was SCU鈥檚 signature care coordination simulation, which brought multiple disciplines together to co-manage complex cases in real time.

Pre- and post-assessments showed gains across IPEC core competencies: Values and Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams/Teamwork. The results also aligned with SCU鈥檚 鈥淟earning in Action鈥� measure, which tracks applied skills. 鈥淭he data confirm that our model not only changes what students know鈥攊t changes how they think and work,鈥� said Madrigal.

Skills from IPE Week translate directly to clinics and community sites. Students practiced structured handovers that reduce errors. They clarified the scope and responsibility so teams can respond faster. They used shared care plans that keep the patient and family at the center. As a result, students left not only with greater confidence, but with a strengthened ability to work across disciplines 鈥� ready to lead and collaborate as part of interprofessional teams united by a shared goal: advancing integrative, whole-person health and improving outcomes for the patients and communities they serve.

Collaboration starts early at SCU. Students experience interprofessional learning from their first year, so teamwork becomes second nature. By the time they enter clinical placements, they already know how to listen across disciplines and keep care plans aligned with patient goals.

This year鈥檚 Summer IPE Week set a new bar for participation and impact. It showed how SCU鈥檚 interprofessional model helps students grow as clinicians and as teammates. It also showed how a campus community can come together around a shared aim: to deliver whole-person care for every patient in every setting.

Learn more about Interprofessional Education at SCU and how our programs prepare students for team-based practice.