What drives a person to become a doctor, to devote years of their lives to study medicine? For our 2008 graduates, their reasons were as diverse as their graduating class. OU-COM celebrates the uniqueness and formative experiences of these new alumni, whose influences range from war-torn homelands to figure skating.

Commencement is the bittersweet end to a lengthy journey. In the graduate profiles linked below, eight new alumni reflect on their time at OU-COM and lessons they learned in the classroom, in the clinic and from each other.