Commencement Ceremony
The American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) Class of 2024 Commencement ceremony will be celebrated on Saturday, May 18. You’ve come a long way, and you should be proud of what you are about to accomplish!
We look forward to bringing all graduates together in recognition of your hard work, your determination, and your success in earning your medical degree. For more information follow the Facebook AUC Commencement Ceremony event group or contact us.
Details will soon follow with important information you’ll need ahead of time. But for now, mark your calendar, alert friends and family, begin making travel plans, and follow the Facebook AUC Commencement Ceremony event group. You’ve come a long way, and you should be proud of what you are about to accomplish!
Commencement 2024 Details
AUC is excited to celebrate our graduates in-person on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 11am ET.
- Location: Watsco Center (located on the University of Miami campus), 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables, Florida.
- The ceremony will begin promptly at 11:00 AM ET.
- Keynote address: Naddi Marah, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Interventional & Structural Cardiology, Memorial Hermann Health System.
- Community Service and Outstanding Academic Awards will be announced
- Individual recognition for each participating graduate during the Conferral of Degrees
- Traditional recitation of the Hippocratic Oath
In honor of your special day, we’ve created some fun digital downloads to help celebrate your achievements and show your AUC pride. Be sure to check out the downloadable celebratory signs, social media graphics, and Zoom backgrounds below. Use #AUCGrad for all of your social media celebratory photos and to find some fun GIPHYs on commencement day!
Instagram story backgrounds (click to download)
Zoom backgrounds (click to download)
Yard Signs (click to download)
AUC Keynote Speaker 2024:
Naddi Marah, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Interventional & Structural Cardiology, Memorial Hermann Health System
Dr. Naddi Marah graduated from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in 2014, during which he served as the President of the Student Government Association. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, followed by Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. During his training, he served as Chief Interventional Cardiology Fellow, and was awarded both Outstanding Clinical Cardiology Fellow and Outstanding Teaching Fellow of The Year by MD Anderson Cancer Center and McGovern Medical School, respectively.
Dr. Marah is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Interventional Cardiology, currently practicing as an integral member of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas. His areas of clinical interests include complex coronary and peripheral vascular interventions, limb salvage revascularization, pulmonary and peripheral thrombectomy, invasive cardiac hemodynamic assessment, pulmonary hypertension, percutaneous left ventricular assist devices, and structural heart disease interventions, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
Dr. Marah takes pride in nurturing the patient-physician relationship, emphasizing the importance of shared-decision making. He serves as an active Health Equity Ambassador within the Houston community, partnering with several organizations in efforts to bridge the gap between healthcare access and at-risk populations. Dr. Marah continues to advocate through community and provider education, promoting awareness about the understated threat of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Marah enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and supporting local sports teams. He is a very competitive soccer player, avid basketball enthusiast, and enjoys listening to smooth jazz. He is fluent in French and proficient in Spanish. Dr. Marah is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI), and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) National Medical Honor Society.
FAQ
Yes. It is required to register to participate in AUC’s in-person commencement ceremony. A link will be made available to you via email. The email sender with be NameCoach (no-reply@name-coach.com), NOT American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. Be sure to check your SPAM folder! This registration process is required regardless of whether you indicated your interest in the ceremony while applying for degree conferral.
Please note that registration for commencement will close at midnight eastern standard time on Friday, April 26, 2024 at midnight eastern standard time.
The deadline to order your cap and gown will be Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Caps & gowns to deliver no later than May 5, 2024.
The ordering site will be live with this year’s commencement date on November 27, 2023.
Directions:
- Go to: herff.ly/auc
- Click Cap & Gown
- Click ‘Cap & Gown’ tab at the top of the page, fill out your information and complete the order.
If a student has an international shipping/billing address, and they want to order the diploma frame, they will need to order the cap and gown by itself and then go to framingsuccess.com to order the diploma frame.
Graduates who were a recipient of an Empower Scholarship Fund scholarship OR any AUC scholarship award are eligible to receive and wear a silver scholarship cord. Cords will be handed out the day of during the check-in process.
We require all graduates to wear regalia while participating. You can find a video on how to wear your regalia here.
AUC is excited to celebrate our graduates in-person on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 11am ET at the Watsco Center (located on the University of Miami campus), 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables, Florida.
- Graduates should arrive to the Watsco Center at 9:00 AM ET with your robe, tam, tassel, and hood. If you qualify for scholarship recipient cord, they will be distributed at check-in. Everyone should be checked in by no later than 10:00 am ET. Please be mindful of traffic!
- Check-in will be at the Watsco Center Concourse 2.
- Please line up at the appropriate check-in station based on the first letter of your last name. Stations will be marked by A-D, E-K, L-R, S-Z. There will be a separate area to pick up scholarship cords.
- Remember to bring your ID with you (student or driver’s license is acceptable). You will receive seating cards placing you in one of four groups (as noted above) printed with your name. Please do not lose this seating card because it will also be used to announce your name during the ceremony.
- If you have personal belongings that do not fit in your pocket, please give them to a family member or friend to hold – doors will not be locked during the ceremony itself.
- The ceremony will begin promptly at 11:00 AM ET.
If you are planning on attending your commencement ceremony in May and have not secured a hotel reservation, search for hotel availability via our trusted partner aRes Travel.
Book online or call 1-800-559-3186 for assistance | International callers 1-619-546-5773
aRes Travel is a third-party travel planner. Rates, deposits, and cancellation policies may vary and are the responsibility of the guest. Questions on hotel policies or payments made on aRes website should be directed to the aRes Reservation Center or to the hotel directly.
At this time face coverings/masks are not required for students, staff, and guests.
No, there will not be a virtual component for the 2024 ceremony. AUC is excited that we will be able to celebrate our graduates’ accomplishments together in person.
Yes! By entering the 2024 Commencement event for American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, you are entering an area where photography, audio and video recording may occur.
Your entry and presence on the event premises constitutes your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media of your appearance, voice, and name for any purpose whatsoever in perpetuity in connection with American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and its initiatives, including, by way of example only, use on websites, in social media, news and advertising.
By entering the event premises, you waive and release any claims you may have related to the use of recorded media of you at the event, including, without limitation, any right to inspect or approve the photo, video or audio recording of you, any claims for invasion of privacy, violation of the right of publicity, defamation, and copyright infringement or for any fees for use of such record media.
You understand that all photography, filming and/or recording will be done in reliance on this consent. If you do not agree to the foregoing, please do not enter the event premises.
If you have a relative who is an AUC alum, they may hood you during the Commencement Ceremony. If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, please email aucevents@aucmed.edu for instructions as far in advance of the ceremony as possible.
Only alumni will be permitted to hood graduates during the Commencement Ceremony, no exceptions.
Yes! Friends and family are welcome at the ceremony.
There is currently no limit to the number of guests a graduate can bring to commencement. However, the events team asks each graduate kindly provides the most accurate headcount possible for guests when you register to participate in the in-person ceremony. This will allow the events team to plan accordingly for capacity and security purposes.
- For guests requiring wheelchair or similar accessibility access for entering – Please locate the sign with the symbol of accessibility on it and the attending staff will be able to assist.
- Light refreshments will be available for purchase on the concourse. Outside food and beverage is not permitted.
- The facility will not permit us to have balloons inside the arena.
- The ceremony will be livestreamed in real time for friends and family who cannot be in attendance. Please have them join via the AUC Facebook or YouTube pages.
- Guests will be permitted into the building at 9:00 AM ET.
- Onsite parking will be available at either the lots surrounding the Watsco Center and the parking garages. These are metered spots that must be paid for. Vehicles should be parked head-in only.
- You can pay for parking at one of the University of Miami pay station kiosks or you can download and use the PayByPhone app (download app or call 877-885-8899). Pay Station kiosks are located in the parking lot, not at the main entrance. Parking must be prepaid prior to entering the building.
- Parking costs for PayByPhone are $2.50 an hour plus a 35 cents transaction fee. Parking sessions over 5 hours are converted to $11.00 plus the 35 cents transaction fee. For more information, please visit https://pt.fop.miami.edu/campus-parking/visitors/index.html or for PayByPhone's frequently asked questions or click HERE for Pay Station's frequently asked questions.
- Please be aware that large bags and backpacks of all guests may be searched upon entrance to the Watsco Center.
Physical programs will be available at the ceremony. However, in the spirit of One Health and being environmentally conscious, we ask that programs are limited to 2-3 per family/friends. There will be a QR code available to pull up a digital program on the day of the ceremony on a mobile device.
The entire list of eligible graduates will be added to the commencement program and we do our best to ensure that the lists are correct. Should you notice a discrepancy, our team can send a revised digital copy post-ceremony if you email gradceremony@aucmed.edu. Please note that if there is an error, your name will still be announced in person.