Over the weekend of May 29–31, the AHE community gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate the Class of 2026 — a weekend that was part graduation, part reunion, part pilgrimage, and part reminder of the lineage these graduates are now stepping into.
The weekend began on Friday with a visit to the Drexel University Hahnemann Archives, where students, graduates, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to explore the Hahnemann Medical College and the History of Homeopathic Medicine Collection. Later that afternoon, a group visited the Historical Medical Library at the Mütter Museum, one of the world’s premier research collections in the history of medicine.
On Saturday evening, the community gathered for “Happy Hour with Hering” at the grave of Constantine Hering at West Laurel Hill Cemetery. It was a fitting way to mark the weekend: not only with celebration, but with a sense of place, history, and gratitude for the homeopaths whose work helped shape the profession we continue to carry forward.
On Sunday afternoon, the community came together at the Waldorf School of Philadelphia for AHE’s 11th graduation ceremony, honoring the 30th and 31st cohorts to complete the program. Graduates joined both in person and online, with classmates logging in from across the country and around the world, including Western Australia and New Zealand.
The ceremony included two beautiful student speeches, one from Kelly Webb on behalf of the full-time Vitalbrations cohort, and one from Lindsay DiGianvittorio on behalf of the part-time Happy Lemons cohort.
Kelly spoke about encouragement, doubt, resilience, and the shared reason so many students begin this path: the desire to help others experience the kind of healing that has touched their own lives. Lindsay reflected on the four-year journey of the Happy Lemons — a cohort shaped by births, moves, work, family, loss, perseverance, and deep mutual support.
Together, their words captured something essential about AHE: that this training is not only about learning remedies, but about becoming the kind of practitioner who can listen deeply, think clearly, remain humble, and stay present when another person is hurting.
Faculty also recognized several students for academic, clinical, research, leadership, and perseverance awards, including:
- Outstanding Academic Achievement: Mehsa Khalil
- Outstanding Contribution in Research: Christine Luketic
- Commitment to Clinical Practice: Lindsay DiGianvittorio
- Commitment to Clinical Practice: Jennifer Miskiel
- Outstanding Clinical Performance: Jennifer Miskiel
- Leadership and Community Building: Jennifer Gaspari
- Award for Resilience and Perseverance: Tracy Fulwood
One of the most moving moments of the afternoon came when the Happy Lemons announced a class gift: a $2,000 scholarship fund created in memory of their classmate Maggie Garcia. The gift will help support future students and continue Maggie’s memory within the AHE community.
Denise Straiges spoke about what that gift means in the larger mission of the school: making homeopathy education accessible, supporting students, and building the infrastructure needed for the profession to grow with integrity.
To the AHE Class of 2026: Congratulations.
You have studied deeply, questioned honestly, practiced carefully, and carried one another through the long arc of this training. You leave not only with knowledge, but with a profession to serve, a community behind you, and a bell to remind you that you are never alone.
Welcome, colleagues.
