Mrs. Gillis and Dr. Orbea join the students for a photo. 
The graduates and their diplomas. 
All smiles after the ceremony, with special guest Gary Miracle 
The faculty are very proud of this group of graduates. 
Gary Miracle was an inspiring guest speaker.
The first graduation ceremony in 2021 was an important celebration that the students and staff certainly deserved after a very tumultuous 2020. On Thursday April 29th, the most recent group of IIOP graduates were joined by their families and friends to be awarded for their hard work and perseverance.
Our special guest at this graduation ceremony was Gary Miracle, who has a personal reason for wanting to speak to a group of aspiring prosthetists. Gary tells a story of life-saving measures and loss of everything but hope. He lost both his arms and legs after a severe case of the flu, leading to sepsis and a 12 day coma. This all happened so quickly, Gary’s wife had to make the decision to amputate his limbs to save her husband’s life. Even despite her quick decision, there was still a very slim chance that Gary would survive.
Despite these odds, Gary survived his illness and on Thursday he drove himself to the ceremony, flanked by all four of his children. He made our guests cry one second from his story, and then turn right around and laugh at his well-timed jokes. He spoke about the role that a Prosthetist can have in changing a human’s life, and some of the battles he has faced with his still-recent amputations. Rest assured there wasn’t anybody in attendance that looked at Gary as anything other than an inspiration to all.
It is always a treasure to see another group of exceedingly competent graduates leaving to make differences in other’s lives. We at IIOP wish the best of luck to the Class of April 2021, Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics:
If you would like to learn more about Gary Miracle and his story you can watch the following videos:
