You could feel the love Friday night as graduating residents and fellows from the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Surgery thanked their family members, faculty mentors, and one another at the 2026 graduation ceremony for residents and fellows at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver.
“Tonight marks more than just the completion of training: It reflects that our trainees have spent years of discipline and sacrifice with an unwavering commitment to patient- and family-centered care, to their academic productivity, and to their own educational efforts of the junior residents and medical students that they've worked with while on surgical services during their residency training,” said Robert McIntyre, MD, interim director of the Department of Surgery. “To the graduates, you have met this challenge with excellence, resilience, and integrity.”
The evening celebrated 10 departing general surgery residents, three plastic surgery residents, two vascular surgery residents, and three urology residents, as well as graduating fellows in specialties including transplant surgery, pediatric surgery, and surgical critical care.
Departing cardiothoracic surgery fellow Eric Etchill, MD, MPH, said that when he applied for fellowship at CU, he thought it was the best program in the country for cardiothoracic surgery training.
“After the last three years, I'm fully convinced that it truly is so,” said Etchill, who will join the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. “I've had amazing training from the dedicated cardiac and thoracic faculty, and I appreciate each and every one of you, as well as the tremendous residents, nursing staff, and OR staff. I feel more prepared for life as a cardiac surgeon back in Baltimore, and I attribute this preparation to all of you.”
Among the graduating fellows was Viviane Leite Abud, MD, the CU surgery department’s first colorectal surgery fellow. She was introduced by Amber Moyer, MD, assistant professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery, who said that Abud “led our team with maturity, grace, and compassion. She provides exceptional patient care, has developed excellent technical skills, and has truly become an expert colorectal surgeon.”
Abud, who is moving to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to build a comprehensive colorectal surgery practice, thanked her faculty mentors for their guidance.
“Thank you so much for investing your time, your vast knowledge and experience, and your trust in me,” she said. “You taught me how to think, how to speak, how to be a complete surgeon, and how to continuously strive to be better. Each of you have shaped me into the surgeon I am today. Thank you for believing in me, challenging me, and giving me so many opportunities to grow.”
The night also included an awards ceremony in which Whitney Jenson, MD, assistant professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery, received the Bartle Faculty Teaching Award and resident Atharwa Mankame, MD, was named the Todd Arcomano Intern of the Year.
Other award winners included Martin McCarter, MD, professor of surgical oncology, winner of the faculty Golden Apple Award, resident Nicole Mott, MD, who received the Frederick L. Grover Award in Clinical Science Research and the Eiseman Research Award in Clinical Science Research, and graduating surgical resident Adam Dyas, MD, winner of the student Golden Apple Award.
Dyas offered some advice to the trainees in the room who have yet to graduate:
“Being a surgeon is one of the best jobs in the world, but it can also be one of the most challenging and most humbling,” he said. “If you don't keep your ego in check, the job will happily do that for you. The highs can be exhilarating, the lows can evoke self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and even despair. Surround yourself with a support system that not only celebrates you during the wins but supports you during the losses. Try to see and do as much as you can while you're here, because while the days may be long, the years are short. Everything worth doing is worth overdoing, and I can't imagine doing something more worthwhile than what we're allowed to do on a day-to-day basis.”
Featured image: Colorectal surgery fellow Viviane Leite Abud speaks at the 2026 graduation ceremony for residents and fellows.