Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s 2025 commencement speaker vows sentimental send-off

John Schriner, Ph.D., associate dean of admissions and student affairs for the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, has spent his career making a good first impression on prospective students. His is often the first voice students hear when they learn they’ve been accepted into the college. Now, for the first time, Schriner will be the official voice congratulating students as they graduate from medical school when he serves as the keynote speaker during the Class of 2025 commencement ceremony.

“I still can't believe they picked me,” said Schriner.

For nearly 30 years, Schriner has recruited aspiring medical students, interviewing each candidate and personally calling each one to let them know of their acceptance to the Heritage College.

“It's our charge here in the admissions office to make sure that we're filling each seat with the best and the brightest that meet our mission here at Heritage College,” he said.

Recalling her admissions interview with Schriner, fourth-year medical student Lauren Cea said he “was just so warm and welcoming, it wasn't like a cold, stoic, competitive atmosphere that I think sometimes can happen in med school…He just was making everyone laugh— it was casual and fun—and I was like, ‘if he is a representation of what this school is, then this is where I want to be.’”

The Heritage College’s Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O., typically selects the commencement speaker, but in an unusual turn of events, the Class of 2025 stepped forward with a suggestion for their graduation. Johnson agreed and came to Schriner with the offer.

When told he was the pick for keynote speaker, Schriner’s initial response was characteristically self-effacing.

“So, who backed out?” he recalls asking, but when reality set in, Schriner said he felt overcome with gratitude.  He has attended 26 Heritage College graduations, missing only one for his son’s college baseball senior day.

“I’ve heard a lot of great commencement speakers, usually from CEOs or physicians—heavy hitters, you know—and then [Johnson] says he wants me to be the commencement speaker?” Schriner said. “I'm not running some mega-billion organization or anything, but I'm truly honored. I really am.”

Cea, Athens Student Government Association president for the Class of 2025, is excited Schriner will be the keynote speaker at her graduation..

“Dean Schriner is so near and dear in our hearts. He's always present on campus, he's always walking through the halls, he's always giving a wave to everybody,” she said. “He's just a staple of Heritage College, everyone knows who Dean Shriner is.”

Though Schriner is not a physician, Johnson points out that he has played a critical role in shaping the state of health in Ohio because the Heritage College is the largest producer of primary care physicians in the state, with each graduating class made up of approximately 250 students across the Athens, Dublin and Cleveland campuses.

“Over the course of his 28 years at the Heritage College, John has played a key role in launching more than 3,500 medical careers—careers impacting the health and wellbeing of countless patients and communities throughout the country,” said Johnson.

In recognition of these contributions, Schriner has received several awards including an Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA) Meritorious Service Award in April 2024.

“I’ve been interacting with the OOA for years, and they have a lot of our graduates in their office. I signed the current president’s admission letter, and the immediate past president’s, too,” he said. “So, to be recognized by them like that, it was so surreal.”

Schriner’s OOA acceptance speech garnered four standing ovations. He’s still mulling over what wisdom he will impart in his keynote speech for commencement next summer.

“I’d like to just walk up to the podium, do a mic drop and walk off the stage,” he said, laughing. “I think it would be hilarious, but I don’t think Ken would like it.”

What he does know is that he wants to “keep it real” and talk about shared memories, visions for the future and send students off with a note on professionalism; revisiting the so-called “Schriner Sermon” he gives aspiring medical students on interview day, which touches on similar subjects.

“It’s such a full circle moment…we’re honored to be able to share this experience with Dean Schriner, and have him give us our send off,” Cea said. “He’s a warm soul. I know his speech is going to be a really special way for all of us to go out.”