What We Leave, What We Carry: UCSF School of Medicine Class of 2026
Hand-drawn banners waved from the balconies of Davies Symphony Hall. Families wore matching T-shirts printed with graduates’ faces. Mentors, siblings, children, and friends filled the audience – all gathered to celebrate the journeys that brought 167 UCSF School of Medicine graduates to this milestone moment.
On May 20, 2026, the Class of 2026 crossed the commencement stage carrying not only degrees, but the experiences, relationships, and lessons that shaped them as physicians during a transformative moment in medicine.
Many in the Class of 2026 began their medical school careers as the world continued to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencement speaker Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, shared the story of her own unconventional path in medicine and how the graduates were uniquely equipped to take on challenges as newly minted physicians.
“The world of medicine that you entered was already shaken, and yet, I am told you are a class of confident optimists,” said Dr. Bibbins-Domingo, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association and a UCSF Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics. “You are go-getters, ready for what lies ahead."
Leading with Compassion
Dr. Bibbins-Domingo addressed the importance of taking risks and how uncertainty can be an opportunity to create change. She also reflected on the ways in which they have already made an impact.
“One of the great underappreciated gifts of academic medicine is that students make teachers better—never stop doing that,” she said. “Wherever you go, push the institutions you inhabit towards their better selves.”
The commitment to advocacy, compassion, and amplifying underserved voices also shaped the remarks of class speaker Bilal Wurie, who will pursue psychiatry. He emphasized that striving to always take care of patients, as well as oneself, in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges will help guide them forward:
“Your worth is in your humanity and your affirming the humanity of others.”
This year’s ceremony also marked a major transition for the UCSF School of Medicine. After 11 years as Dean, this was Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD’s final commencement ceremony leading the School. In his remarks, Dean King reflected on the privilege of watching students grow not only in knowledge, but in humility, resilience, and purpose.
“Serving this school has been one of the great honors of my life,” he said. “One of the great privileges of this role has been watching each class arrive, full of possibilities, and leave having become something more than they imagined when they got here—that transformation never becomes ordinary.”
Lessons Beyond the Classroom
Many graduates shared how their diverse experiences in the clinic and community at UCSF has shaped their values as physicians.
Alyssa Rivera, a graduate of the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) program, learned on her rotations how understanding systemic barriers to care and their effects could allow her to better help her patients:
“As I enter residency, I hope to carry forward a commitment to meeting patients where they are. UCSF taught me to approach medicine with both curiosity and humility: to ask not only ‘what is the diagnosis?’ but also ‘what does this patient need to succeed after they leave?’”
Others described how they learned from their patients themselves. Dafna Erana Hernandez recalled taking care of a patient in the hospital with a poor prognosis during her internal medicine acting internship.
“Caring for this patient as his health continued to deteriorate daily reinforced the value of showing up and listening, even when there are no solutions left to give.”
Jared Cabrera-Yalung, a Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US) and UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP) graduate, shared how faculty like Ronald Labuguen, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, fostered a lifelong commitment to health justice. They worked together at the Mabuhay Health Clinic, a student-run clinic in the SoMa neighborhood that serves many in San Francisco’s Filipino community.
“Through mentors like him, I came to understand that medicine is rooted in human connection, and that physicians hold a responsibility not only to care for individuals, but to stand with communities in moments of injustice."
Medicine Beyond the Individual
Throughout the ceremony, speakers highlighted the unique paths of UCSF graduates and how they have used their growing expertise. For many students, that means thinking about medicine beyond the individual level.
“Diversity will remain central to how I practice medicine, shaping how I listen, advocate, and deliver care,” said Liz Hoang, a JMP and PRIME-US graduate. “My lived experiences and training have led me to approach psychiatry with humility and a deep commitment to addressing structural inequities.”
Cabrera-Yalung will be training as an emergency medicine physician and hopes to combine patient care with advocacy for increased access to health care and other improvements at the systems-level.
“UCSF has helped me understand that medicine is both clinical acumen and moral responsibility.”
The Impact They Leave Behind
The graduates expressed gratitude for those who helped them every step of the way and their accomplishments that are already transforming patient care.
Larry Zhu, a Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) graduate, completed his graduate research project on the origins of
Parkinson’s disease, creating new possibilities for treatment. He also shared how his mentors in both graduate and medical school served as important role models.
“It's a very powerful thing to see someone doing something that you thought was impossible, and think, ‘Hey, that could be me!’”
Hoang described how mentors supported her throughout medical school.
“One lesson I will carry forward is that mentorship and education are acts of care,” she said. “I saw how small, intentional moments of support foster growth, belonging, and confidence—shaping not only better learners, but more compassionate and connected physicians.”
Carrying Forward with Purpose
The ceremony concluded with the graduates reading the UCSF Physician Declaration—the same words they had read at their White Coat Ceremony as they first began their medical school journeys. A group of graduates took the stage to read the first line of the declaration in a language other than English, representing 15 different languages in this graduating class
After renewing their promises to serve humanity, the new physicians gazed up at the applauding audience, beaming with pride and purpose. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo described these graduates best:
“People who think with their heads and lead with their hearts—that is what defines the student body at UCSF."
