WesternU COMP Commencement: To heal, to advocate and to serve
Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific graduates are prepared to use their “superpower” to heal – and to treat patients with dignity and respect.
COMP held its Commencement ceremony on May 14, 2025 in Pomona, California, with 209 graduates earning their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree as they prepare to enter residencies.
COMP and COMP-Northwest Dean Lisa Warren, DO ’01, MBA, said the Class of 2025 is special because this is the first graduating class since she became dean in July 2024. She encouraged them to inspire their colleagues and find inspiration in their patients.
“You carry with you the knowledge, and more so, your heart and hands to serve. That is your true superpower – the power to heal,” Warren said. “I am deeply proud of what you have accomplished and even more inspired by what lies ahead. The world needs the kind of doctor you’ve become. Congratulations!”
COMP graduate speaker Aaron Bautista, DO ’25, said the true weight they carry is the responsibility to heal, to advocate, and to serve.
“The duty not just to treat illness, but to spread dignity, to see our patients as full human beings worthy of care, respect and justice,” Bautista said.
The moments that shaped them weren’t in textbooks, he said.
“I will never forget when a terminally ill patient looked me in the eye and said, ‘I just need someone to listen.’ In that moment I realized that healing isn’t always about hearing,” Bautisa said. “It’s about presence, about dignity, about being there when nothing else can be done. A doctor’s role is not just to treat illness, but to see the person behind their affliction.”
Wear these academic hoods not as decorations but as promises – to our patients, to our communities, and to ourselves – to show up, to speak out, and to never forget why we chose this path in the first place, Bautista said.
“We have chosen a path that among many other things requires us to address the hopes and burdens of the underserved, the overlooked and the marginalized, thus we step into this world not just with a title but with a profound responsibility,” he said. “The world needs more than just doctors who diagnose and treat. It needs someone who listens, who fights, who refuses to stay silent. Class of 2025, the world is not just waiting for us, it is counting on us, so go forth and heal.”
COMP graduate Adnan Sadruddin, DO ’25, said he chose family medicine because of the holistic aspect of dealing with different age groups and caring for the longitudinal aspect.
“I’m a big proponent for mental health, and family medicine allows me to practice mental health as well,” Sadruddin said. “I love the diversity behind it.”
Walking across the stage and hearing his name with “doctor” in front of it will be surreal and a big relief.
“You’ve been working to reach these goals for so long, and suddenly that time is here,” Sadruddin said. “It will take me a couple of minutes to get used to.”
Graduates chose one or two loved ones to join them onstage as family hooders. After receiving their diploma from Dean Warren and WesternU President Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA, the family hooders placed the academic hood on their graduate. John and Patty Henley sat in the family hooder section prior to the start of the COMP ceremony in preparation for sharing the stage with their daughter, COMP graduate Rachel Henley Garza.
When asked what will make her daughter a good doctor, Patty Henley said she has empathy, is a good listener, and is open to learning and teaching. Henley Garza is entering a family medicine residency in Sacramento.
“Part of what appealed to her (about family medicine) is she wants to build long-term relationships with her patients,” John Henley said.
