Graduating students Kendall Burks and Elijah Darden have faced tough challenges in their young lives, but both have thrived thanks to the love and support of their communities. On Monday, May 12, Burks and Darden will encourage the Class of 2025 to lean on their communities as the navigate life after graduation.
Here, Burks, who will earn both Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from WashU’s Medical Scientist Training Program, and Darden, who is set to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychological and brain sciences from Arts & Sciences, preview their speeches for the 164th Commencement at Washington University in St. Louis.
‘Find communities that will lift you emotionally’
Kendall Burks has worked through some significant obstacles, starting in middle school, when her father was laid off from his job as a copier salesman during the Great Recession, and their family lost their Texas home.
But at her school, near Dallas, Burks recalled her teachers and tennis coaches went out of their way to provide “fun and engaging activities to escape some of these stresses.” A key inspiration was watching her dad pounding the pavement to find odd jobs that would make ends meet.
In high school, Burks’ mom died suddenly and unexpectedly from septic shock following an infection at age 51.
“I couldn’t fathom why the world had to lose a person whose trademark saying was, ‘It takes just as much energy to be kind as it does to be mean,’” she said. “I was fortunate to have support from so many people at my school, especially my teachers and peers. I would never have made it to this point without a very long list of people who carried me.”
The challenging circumstances Burks faced as a teenager have inspired the talk she plans to give at Commencement.
“My goal for the speech is to make my fellow graduates feel like they can continue to accomplish whatever they set out to do, even when it feels impossible,” she said. “The way to overcome these obstacles is to find communities that will lift you emotionally.”
A strong sense of community also inspired her to leave Texas after graduating from Rice University in Houston to earn an MD/PhD at WashU. “I saw a lot of collaboration and camaraderie when I first visited the campus,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of it.”
Community also helped her succeed more than she ever imagined. “When I look at my diploma, I will think of all the dedicated faculty, staff and students at WashU Medicine who lifted me through the many challenges during my eight years in the classroom, lab and clinic,” she said. “I look forward to applying the unique sense of community WashU cultivates in ways that will serve patients through my future clinical and research activities.”
After graduation, Burks will head to Boston for an internal medicine and research pathway residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, affiliated with Harvard University. There, she will continue her pursuit of a career as a physician-scientist in cardiology. She plans to continue studying pathways regulating fat metabolism in the setting of heart disease.
It won’t be easy, but she will lean on community and reciprocate support to colleagues, friends and family when they encounter challenges. “No matter the obstacles, I, along with the graduating class, must continue to strive toward our goals in our professional and personal lives,” Burks said. “We must carry each other.”
— By Kristina Sauerwein
‘There are always communities that exist and thrive in spite of the times’
Elijah Darden is a nonprofit CEO, certified emergency medical technician (EMT), cancer researcher and future physician. Yet when he addresses the 3,600 members of the Class of 2025 — as well as their friends, family and professors — at the 164th Commencement ceremony May 12, he will speak about his college experience through an entirely different lens: music.
Darden, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychological and brain sciences, and a minor in music, from Arts & Sciences, has more than a decade of experience in trombone, piano and brass instrument performance. He currently performs in WashU’s Jazz Band and has contributed compositions to multiple university ensembles. This speech represents a full-circle moment for Darden, who remembers writing about music in his personal statement when applying to WashU four years ago.
“It was very poetic, in a way, to revisit that idea: to see how it has changed throughout the years and how it connects to our graduating class’s experience coming to a close,” Darden said. “Music, specifically composition, has been so important to me. It’s a way for me to create stories and share those with my community, both expressing myself and connecting with others.”
Those are the messages that Darden hopes to share with the audience: one, the opportunity for everyone to write their own stories, and two, the importance of community.
“Every single one of us has written our story in different ways. Sometimes it feels like that story is written by other people, and we don’t have much control over it. But really, I hope that we can all find our story and carve our own path,” he said.
At WashU, Darden’s story has been shaped by his experiences in the Jazz Band, Rodriguez Scholars program and the Emergency Support Team, as well as mentorship from faculty and staff across academic divisions, research labs and Student Affairs. He has found community by embracing difference and diversity within his communities — and he imparts that charge to others.
“Put yourself out there, even if that means temporarily lowering your defenses and letting yourself be vulnerable,” Darden said. “Amidst uncertainty and strife over the past four years, there has also been cohesion. As an EMT on campus, I have interacted with a lot of people, and when I get a call, there are usually bystanders there. You see that, even in difficult times, people are there for each other. There are always communities that exist and thrive in spite of the times.”
The next step in Darden’s journey will allow him to bring people together, too. As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, he will pursue a master’s degree in population health sciences at the University of Cambridge. When he returns to the U.S., he plans to attend medical school at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, combining his dedication to patient care with his passion for health equity.
“I want to integrate the medical aspect with the public health, education and research aspect, serving as a liaison between health care and the community,” Darden said. “We need to bridge those together.”
— By Amanda Young
