It takes a village to create a successful surgeon.
That was the message at the 2025 graduation ceremony for residents and fellows in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery, which took place June 20 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver.
“All of these graduates are here tonight because of the support they’ve had from their significant others, their families, and their spouses,” Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, chair of the surgery department, said in his opening remarks. “I know this because I have three children in medicine.”
Schulick also noted that though many members of the graduating class had received their medical degrees from domestic medical schools, the class also includes many international surgeons as well, including graduates from medical schools in Pakistan, Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, and Mexico.
“All the graduates you see tonight came in as intelligent, hardworking, talented individuals with grit, but they were missing a couple of things — a great environment to train in, and exposure to great mentors,” Schulick said. “This is exactly what we’ve provided them at the University of Colorado. They will engage some of these mentors for the rest of their careers and the rest of their lives.”
Expressions of gratitude
Those mentors — along with spouses, parents, and other family members — were thanked throughout the night as the departing residents and fellows came to the stage to accept their certificates and address their fellow graduates.
Shahyan Bakhtiyar, MBBS, poses with Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, Mark Nehler, MD, and others after winning the Frederick L. Grover Award in Clinical Science Research.
Among them was general surgery resident Shahyan Bakhtiyar, MBBS, whom presenter Alex Morton, MD, associate director of the surgery residency program, said “has shown a singular focus and unwavering drive” throughout his training at the CU Department of Surgery. “His determination is nothing short of inspiring,” Martin said.
Bakhtiyar, also the winner of the Frederick L. Grover Award in Clinical Science Research at the evening’s awards ceremony, expressed his gratitude to “the entire faculty, who I cannot thank enough for their time, patience, trust, and guidance,” he said. “You’ve taught me how to care and how to grow. I will carry your lessons with me for all time.”
Presenter Nicole Christian, MD, assistant professor of surgical oncology and associate director of the surgery residency program, described departing general surgery resident Viviane Leite Abud, MD, as “a kind and unwavering presence in our program — someone who lifts up those around her and fiercely advocates for her colleagues.”
“If someone had told me 10 years ago that I’d be here today, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Abud, who received her medical degree from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. “This strength wasn’t just in me; I got it from all the people who supported me.”
Among the fellows honored at the graduation ceremony was Thomas Vogler, MD, fellow in the Surgical Critical Care and Burn Reconstructive Surgery Program, whom program director Arek Wiktor, MD, called a “triple threat.”
“He is an excellent educator and excellent clinician, both at the bedside and in the operating room. And he's a PhD researcher,” Wiktor said. “The team has embraced Tom with full open arms.”
Award winners
Other recipients during the awards ceremony for research, scholarship, and professionalism included resident Alyssa Vaughn, MD, who was presented with the J. Cuthbert Owens Award for Excellence in Teaching and Patient Care, and Dawn O’Neill, CST, who won the APP Appreciation Award.
The room was filled with friends and family at the 2025 graduation ceremony.
One of the evening’s highest honors, the Bartle Faculty Teaching Award, was presented posthumously to Michael Wachs, MD, former professor of surgery and chief of abdominal transplant surgery at Children’s Hospital Colorado, who died in January. Wachs was described at the ceremony as a “true legend in the field” who performed the first living donor liver transplant in the U.S.
Featured image: General surgery resident Kevin Choy, MD, holds his son as he speaks at the June 20 graduation ceremony for the CU Department of Surgery.
