The College hosted a dedication of The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont on April 28 in the Hoehl Gallery in the Health Science Research Facility. The event honored the late Dr. Larner and his wife Helen for their generosity and longtime dedication to and support of medicine, education and UVM over the past 32 years. Emily Vayda ’20 delivered the following remarks at the event.
As an alumnus of the University of Vermont, and now a first year student at the Larner College of Medicine, it is easy to see Dr. Robert Larner as an outstanding role model. There is never a day that we do not see the impact that Dr. Larner has on our futures as physicians. During team-based learning, doctoring skills, and the newly developed point of care ultrasound course, we see the direct contributions of Dr. Larner’s generous giving. Dr. Larner has given so much more than a purely physical space in which to learn, he has also provided us with the opportunities to become outstanding physicians who devote themselves to promoting individual and societal health.
My current experience of living and volunteering in the Old North End of Burlington offers me access to the sense of community Dr. Larner likely felt during his childhood, which fills me with the responsibility to give back to both city and school. Through Dr. Larner’s example, we are better equipped to give back to the people and places that have mentored and guided us. Upon starting medical school last August, our class quickly adopted the motto “second to none.” This motto became the mantra of our class in everything we do, including intramural sports, in class motivation, and the name of many group chats and hashtags.
We embody the words of Dr. Larner in everything we do, with the understanding that we are standing on a foundation created by those who have come before us, including Dr. Larner and all alumni of the College of Medicine. Dr. Larner will continue to live on in every one of us, and we will always strive to serve and create communities, with a strong commitment to the patients, passing on his legacy which is second to none.
Read more about the dedication ceremony honoring Dr. Larner.
