Joan and Sanford I. Weill chat with WCMC-Q graduates Sharon King and Kunali Dalal aboard The Duchess, May 27.
With the lights of Weill Cornell Medical College reflecting off the East River, several members of the inaugural graduating class of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar took a few moments to reflect on the past six years of their lives while enjoying a dinner cruise around Manhattan with their family, friends and Medical College physicians and administrators Tuesday night.
"It's been six years, fantastic ones at that. And I will continue to cherish them for years to come," said Ibrahim Sultan. "It's a very nice way of ending our eventful journey. It's been the best six years of my life."
The inaugural graduating class of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar with Dr. Daniel R. Alonso, dean, WCMC-Q (back row, fifth from left); Dr. Maya Hammoud, senior associate dean for education, WCMC-Q (back row, sixth from left); and Sanford I. Weill (back row, fourth from right).
The graduates expressed joy for their accomplishments, a bit of sadness at reaching the end of this journey, and an overwhelming gratitude to Dr. Daniel R. Alonso, dean of WCMC-Q, the Medical College, and its biggest supporters, Joan and Sanford Weill.
"This graduating class will not only be great doctors but will show the world how our cultures can work together to make this a better world," Mr. Weill said.
The boat cruised south along Manhattan's west side, slipped under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges and reached the Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center as the lights of the skyline shined bright.
"There is your spiritual medical home," Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean of the Medical College, announced as the ship passed the 59th Street Bridge. "Some of you will spend the next several years of your lives there, but all of you will share a permanent attachment with it."
Photography by Richard Lobell.