UC Davis School of Medicine celebrates its largest graduating class

(DAVIS)

Paul Tran took to the podium and told the UC Davis School of Medicine Class of 2026 what they might expect when they begin residency training this summer.

New doctors, he said, will encounter imposter syndrome, doubting their competence after four years of medical school, likely asking, "Am I doing good enough?"

He then turned to the graduates and urged them to reconsider that common question, and instead, ask, "Am I doing enough good?"

Students responded with enthusiastic applause.

The phrase - "Am I doing good enough" - is self-focused and performance-oriented, Tran said. But the phrase, "Am I doing enough good," he explained, is focused on others and it is service oriented. "One is about your ego," he continued, "and one is about your impact."

Tran, a pediatric gastroenterologist and popular social media influencer, delivered his poignant advice Saturday to an attentive audience: The 119 graduating medical doctors sitting beside him at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis. The students wearing blue and black regalia, plus another five who didn't attend the commencement ceremony, represented the largest graduating class of the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Medical student proposes on stage

As with every UC Davis School of Medicine commencement, graduates invite family and supporters to cross the stage with them to be hooded and receive their diploma.

During one of these moments, the ceremony took an unforgettable turn: Medical student Habib Salamah pulled off a wedding proposal on stage.

Habib Salamah, graduating from the UC Davis School of Medicine, proposes to Alaa'i Alshabrawy during commencement, with his 8-year-old brother watching in excitement.

When Salamah's name was called, he was joined on the stage with three people important to him: his big sister and their 8-year-old brother whom they helped raise after their mom died, as well as Salamah's partner Alaa'i Alshabrawy. After he was hooded by Associate Dean Sharad Jain, the group paused for photos and walked toward the diploma table. That's when Salamah stopped, reached into his pocket, dropped to one knee and opened a cherry red ring box.

His partner appeared stunned. She covered her open mouth with her hand before nodding yes. Students and faculty erupted in cheers and a standing ovation.

Salamah later admitted he was nervous - and not because he feared Alshabrawy would say no. But because he said their Muslim faith values modesty and restraint in public, and he wasn't sure how the high-profile gesture - like pausing a graduation ceremony in front of more than 1,000 people - would be received.

Salamah said he ultimately saw the proposal as an opportunity to show that he and his future wife were bonded by love and a cause they care deeply about.

"When I got down on one knee, I wasn't just asking Dr. Alshabrawy to marry me, I was also pleading with the world to see Palestinians as human beings, too."

Salamah spent three childhood years in Palestine. Alshabrawy, his fiancé, is of Egyptian background and a 2025 UC Davis medical school graduate and UC Davis Health internal medicine resident.

Very few people knew about the plan to propose on stage. He told school officials and his partner's father, who gave his blessing.

Before the ceremony briefly went off script with the proposal, graduates also heard from several speakers, including one of their own, Mustafa Saleh Jundi, who was selected by fellow classmates to deliver the student address.

The Class of 2026: "A beautiful tapestry"

Jundi, the son of Palestinian refugees, honored the Class of 2026 for their unique stories and varied backgrounds that he called "a beautiful tapestry" of life experiences that led them to the UC Davis School of Medicine.

He referred to classmates who grew up picking fruit as child laborers alongside their farmworker parents. He spoke about the soon-to-be doctors who were raised in Palestinian villages enduring the "unique taste and smell of tear gas."

He highlighted the cultural and religious diversity of the class.

"Long before ever first having stepped foot in a hospital, our calling to medicine was minted. It is amongst this gorgeous mosaic that I have the privilege to stich my story and add to its texture," he said.

Medical school graduate Yakelin Arroyo Velazquez is hooded by her mother Anita as daughter Violet watches.

Jundi also thanked a UC Davis Medical Center patient care team and countless classmates for visiting his father in the hospital while being treated for a serious medical condition. His father, Jundi said, was watching the ceremony from his hospital bed. "While I know you hear us, I cannot wait to rewatch this together as you continue to regain consciousness."

Near the end of the ceremony, a portion of the physician's oath was recited by 21 students in 21 different languages, each of which represented their ancestral heritage.

The entire class then stood to read the oath in English and moved their tassels from right to left. Thunderous cheers and applause marked the conclusion of the School of Medicine's 55^th commencement as the new doctors marched out of the theater and on to residency.