One farewell and three premieres
MHH-Alumni e.V. bids farewell to 110 graduates of Human medicine
It was the 32nd graduation ceremony in Human medicine for the MHH-Alumni e.V., but a first for the new President, Professor Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner. Over 600 guests attended the festive event in the Canteen of Hannover Medical School on January 11, 2025. Of course, the focus was primarily on the beaming young people who had successfully completed their studies at MHH - but also a little bit on the new MHH President. On the eleventh day of her term of office, 110 graduation certificates had to be handed over.
But one thing at a time: First, Alumni Chairman Prof. Dr. Siegfried Piepenbrock welcomed all the guests and congratulated the graduates on their license to practice medicine. Dr. Marion Renneberg, Vice President of the Lower Saxony Medical Association, also took the opportunity to offer her warmest congratulations to the new colleagues. In his speech, Dean of Studies Prof. Dr. Ingo Just paid particular tribute to the support of family and friends, without whom many a degree would certainly not have been possible.
In their speech, graduate Annemarie Fanny Müller and graduate Carlos Oltmanns reviewed the past years at the MHH with special appreciation and a twinkle in their eyes. On the one hand, there was great gratitude to all those who had made their studies and exams possible, said Oltmanns. On the other hand, this gratitude also gave rise to a responsibility to give something back, to do a good job and to make a contribution to society. The highlight of their contribution was undoubtedly the confetti cannon that they fired into the crowd - a first in the history of graduation ceremonies.
Then came the moment when President Professor Hilfiker-Kleiner stepped up to the microphone. In her welcoming address, she praised the outstanding quality of teaching at the MHH, which is an inspiration to many other universities throughout Germany - not least due to the development of innovative teaching formats in the coronavirus era. She presented the graduation certificates and congratulated each graduate personally. Professor Siegfried Piepenbrock also offered his congratulations and presented each physician with the traditional red examination rose from the alumni association.
The musical setting should not go unmentioned, as it was simply magnificent. Among the graduates, there were three singers with powerful voices who delighted the guests with their songs. Alicia Reitze and Nina Nienhaus gave the audience goosebumps with the song "This Time", while graduate Eluisa Sina and her band fired up the audience with R&B rhythms. Their interpretation of the Kool and the Gang song "Celebration" literally swept the guests off their seats at the end of the event. Clapping and dancing, they swayed in the rows and secured a third "first time" for the afternoon.
The exam ceremony in pictures
